Handed on a Silver Platter
by grookill
Summary: Akane is mad at Ranma, and Kasumi's in charge of the household while the fathers flee. Not an AkaneRanma pairing
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:  
  
Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumko Takahashi. In the United States, all publication rights to Ranma 1/2 belong to Viz. This is a work of fan fiction.  
  
********** ********** ********** ********** ********** **********  
  
Handed on a Silver Platter  
  
********** ********** ********** ********** ********** **********  
  
"I'm sorry, Akane. I cannot allow this production to turn into chaos, but I'm sure you understand the position that I'm in."  
  
Those thoughts ran through Akane's head as she went home. Angry and confused, she refused to talk to anybody as she ran out the hall and towards the front gate, where she stood and cried.  
  
"Akane?" A voice cut through her fog.  
  
"Ranma!" Akane's mind swirled, trying to find a firm ground to root herself.  
  
Sobbing, Akane croaked, "Leave me alone."  
  
"I, um, brought you your book-bag." Ranma tried to hand her the bag, all the while looking at her, trying to see her face.  
  
"I said, leave me ALONE!" Akane took an angry swipe at her bag and tearing it from Ranma's hand, breaking open the clasps that held it closed. The books and papers that were inside started to fly all over the place, some falling to the ground, others went flittering about.  
  
Ranma tried to catch many of the papers as he could before a breeze carried them away. As Ranma gathered all the papers and books, he tried to put each into her bag. He held the last book he found as he handed the bag to Akane.  
  
"Here you go, Akane. I'm sorry about the book, It fell in that puddle over there and it got all wet." He handed the book to her with two hands, title up.  
  
Akane looked at the book Ranma held out.  
  
"Ranma, you, you, you..." Akane began to shake as her mind shut down. Unable to express her emotions, she ran out the gate.  
  
"Akane!" Ranma started to run after her when Nabiki stops him.  
  
"Ranma, STOP! Let her go."  
  
Nabiki jogged over to Ranma. "Ranma, let her go. She just heard some bad news and she's very upset." Nabiki didn't want Ranma bothering her little sister, certain that Ranma was at the heart of her sister's anger. Looking at Ranma's hands, she saw the title of the book in his hands.  
  
"No wonder. What did you do this time?" Nabiki said, coldly staring at Ranma, wondering what pathetic excuse he would come up with this time.  
  
Nabiki's stare was adding to the pressure that Ranma felt. First Akane was obviously upset, most likely about the book in his hands, and now Nabiki was about to give him the third degree. Fumbling with the book, he opened the cover and read the title for the first time, 'Romeo and Juliet' it read. Scrunching his forehead in thought, Ranma looked at Nabiki for a clue.  
  
"I don't know. All I did was try to give her this book."  
  
Nabiki almost hung her head. Ranma was not the best person at communicating, and this interrogation was going to take a while. "And why is the book wet?"  
  
Ranma, turned and pointed at the puddle where he fished it from, "I found it in that puddle."  
  
Nabiki continued to ask questions, and after what seemed like an hour, she understood what had transpired between Akane and Ranma. "For once, he tried to do the right thing, and now I'll have to live with it," Nabiki thought as she fretted about dinner. She was not looking forward to dinner with Ranma and Akane at the same table.  
  
***  
  
"Hey! Akane, pass me some of that green stuff." Ranma had been trying to get Akane to speak to him throughout dinner, but to no avail. Even Kasumi's cotton soft approach did not elicit a response from her youngest sister. When Akane had come home, she went to her room, not even announcing her arrival.  
  
Not getting a response from Akane, Ranma started to reach for the platter when Genma quickly grabbed the platter and shoved into the hands of an unsuspecting Ranma. Surprised, Ranma nearly dropped the contents of platter onto Akane's lap, but at the last moment was able to catch the dropped morsels before they soiled Akane's dress.  
  
With that last action, Akane looked at her father, nodded her head, and silently left the table.  
  
"Ranma," Soun intoned, "go upstairs and talk to Akane."  
  
"She doesn't talk to me. She won't even let me into her room. She isn't talking to anybody." Ranma was picking at the crumbs on his plate, trying to work out his frustration at not being able to get Akane to speak to him.  
  
"Father, let me see if she'll talk to me after I do the dishes. I'm sure that whatever it is, it is nothing major." In the past, Kasumi had acted as both a mother figure and as an older sister to Akane. It fell to the eldest sister to help her younger sisters through life's problems. At times like this she worried about her emotional father, who had difficulty coping with his offspring's life trials.  
  
As expected, Soun looked at his daughter with a worried look on his face.  
  
"Papa, don't worry," Kasumi said, maintaining a calm smile. She tried to put her father at ease. A little voice in Kasumi's head was telling her, "He'll be fine. Go on up and help your little sister."  
  
After completing the dishes, Kasumi knocked on Akane's door and called in, "Akane?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Knocking again, and opening the door slightly, Kasumi peered in and asked, "Akane? Can we talk?"  
  
Akane was sitting on the floor, looking at a pile of clothes. She looked up at Kasumi and took a deep breath. Exhaling, she nodded once and waved Kasumi in.  
  
Kasumi sat on the floor next to her, picked up a blouse and started folding it. "Akane, what happened? Father is worried."  
  
"Nothing." Akane spoke for the first time since leaving school.  
  
"Then," Kasumi asked, "why don't you speak to anyone."  
  
"Because."  
  
Starting on another blouse, Kasumi tries a different tactic. "Is it something Ranma did?"  
  
This time Akane did not answer. She was sloppily folding a skirt.  
  
"Is it something that Ranma didn't do?" Kasumi knew that sometimes her youngest sister bore the brunt of Ranma's social ineptitude, but Akane's behavior was so extreme that Kasumi knew that someone or something had injured Akane deeply.  
  
Akane stopped and sat still, as if she was trying to make her mind up about what to do or say.  
  
"I," Akane started, then faltered. "I, I'm not feminine."  
  
Kasumi looked at her sister. Sure, Akane was a bit of a tomboy, but no one would mistake her for a man. "What makes you say that?" Kasumi tried to draw Akane out.  
  
"I was offered the role of Juliet today. Then I was told I wasn't feminine enough for the role." Akane was near tears, but she continued.  
  
"I thought I had the role. Everyone thought I had the role, everyone but that idiot director. He said I wasn't 'lady-like', and that he might offer me the role of some maid." Tears started to roll down Akane's face. Being insulted by Ranma was one thing, she'd come to expect it from him, and to her it meant that he cared for her. Being called unfeminine by the director was too much. When she was deciding whether or not to pound the man into the ground, she was told that she just would have detrimental effect on the production of the play, and that was the final straw.  
  
Wiping her eyes, Akane went on. "I wanted to hit him for what he said. I sat there and watched the rest of the auditions. Kuno tried out for Romeo, and when he saw me, he tried to impress the director with his sword fighting skills. While improvising a scene where he was trying to save his Juliet from the evil Happosai, he destroyed the set."  
  
Kasumi tried to hide her frown. Picturing Kuno swinging his wooden sword around while attacking Happosai must have been an interesting sight. Knowing that Kuno's 'Juliet' was Akane made it easy for Kasumi to understand why the director was afraid of what may happen if Akane was in the play. Still, the offense of calling her youngest sibling unfeminine was a problem that needed to be dealt with.  
  
There was one thing that concerned Kasumi, and that how was Ranma involved. Ranma was always involved, and she suspected that he would be involved even if he were on the opposite side of the Earth.  
  
"So Ranma wasn't involved in this?" Kasumi asked.  
  
Akane blew her nose into a wet handkerchief and rubbed a tear from her eye before she croaked, "He was at first, when he thought that the prize for being Romeo was a trip to China. When he found that the prize was a visit by a man whose name was China, he fled the scene. I didn't see him again until school was out."  
  
Listening to her sister, Kasumi understood that Akane was going to have to work this out by herself, and that pressuring her could do more harm than good. Deciding that this was a safe point to end the conversation, Kasumi asked, "Are you going to be okay?"  
  
"I think so. I just want to be left alone."  
  
Kasumi quietly left the room to go downstairs to talk to Father about what she just learned. As she passed Nabiki's room, she heard her name whispered, inviting her in. Entering Nabiki's room, she was asked by the middle sister how Akane was faring.  
  
"Not good. She tried out for Juliet, and she didn't get the part. She was told she wasn't lady-like enough. Then Kuno and Cologne destroyed the set while trying to impress Akane and the director."  
  
Nabiki thought for a moment while she sharpened a pencil. What Kasumi had said fit in with what she heard earlier in the day. "That's not good," Nabiki commented, "Ranma didn't even try out for the play, so she can't blame him for anything that went wrong."  
  
She tested the point on her pencil and put it away. As she pulled another pencil from her draw, she continued by saying, "After school I found Ranma about to chase after Akane. I knew Akane didn't get the part, but not why. I stopped him before he could do anything."  
  
Nabiki continued to sharpen pencils and organize her desk drawer as the recounted an accurate version of Akane, Ranma, the book bag, and demise of Akane's copy of "Romeo and Juliet."  
  
"Oh, my!" Kasumi was surprised that Ranma had done something nice for Akane. It may have been a small act, and one that he probably would have done for anyone, but it was still a nice gesture. It was unfortunate that Ranma no idea of the significance of the book that he handed to her -- it was given to Akane by her mother shortly before she died, and as a result, cherished by Akane. Knowing how Akane misconstrued things under stress, she was able to put together the missing pieces of the puzzle that was her youngest sisters behavior. As she went downstairs, she wondered how to let her father know why Akane was upset without him turning into an emotional disaster area.  
  
***  
  
For the majority of students at Furinkan High, school the next day was uneventful, but for a few, it was stressful.  
  
After being told by Mr. Tendo, his father, and Kasumi to leave Akane alone, Ranma sat, sulked, slept, and generally tried to avoid Akane throughout the day. At lunch, when Ranma tried to find Akane to see if she would talk to him, he found that she was eating alone in the corner of the classroom. Torn between seeing his fiancee upset and the admonishments from everyone else, he stood there for a few moments trying to figure out what to do. Finally, he took a deep breath, and turned around to leave.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane called out.  
  
Ranma turned around, and looked at her, about to say something when she continued.  
  
"I'm okay. Just... Just leave me alone for a while, please?"  
  
Ranma could see the tears build up in her eyes. He desperately wanted to do something make her feel better, but somehow he knew that he really should do what she asked.  
  
"Okay." Ranma looked at her again, "When you wanna talk..."  
  
Akane nodded, and tried to concentrate on her lunch.  
  
Ranma silently left the room, only to sit outside the door to ensure that nobody bothered Akane while she ate.  
  
***  
  
When school was over, Ranma walked home alone.  
  
"I'm home!" Ranma announced. As he stepped in the hallway, he expected to see his father tell him to get ready for practice, but was greeted by Kasumi instead.  
  
"Ranma! How was your day today?"  
  
Although Kasumi asked the same question every day, something was slightly different. Ranma looked around. The house looked like it was in shambles, and Kasumi looked as if she had been hard at work trying to bring everything back to normal.  
  
"What happened?" Ranma asked.  
  
Ranma saw a reproving stare from Kasumi. Obviously she was not going to allow him to not answer her question. Feeling the heat, he answered. "Fine, I guess. Considerin' that Akane ain't talking to me, or anyone else for all that matters." It would be obvious to any listener that he wasn't happy about her self-imposed isolation.  
  
"Did you leave her alone?"  
  
Ranma squirmed a little, mostly because Kasumi's gaze forced the truth out of him, "Yeah."  
  
Ranma saw that Kasumi relaxed a little, and motioned him into the kitchen. "Our fathers and Happosai went on a training trip this morning." Kasumi reached for a plate from the cupboard.  
  
"So, wha happened?" Ranma looked around, even the kitchen showed signs of having being hastily re-assembled.  
  
"Father and Uncle Saotome just left to meet with your principal, to discuss Akane and the play when they met the Master. After some testing, Happosai decided that my father and your father needed to review the basics. So they all packed their bags and left.  
  
I think it's wonderful that Daddy gets out to see the country side, it's so pretty this time of year."  
  
"Better him than me," Ranma muttered.  
  
"Happosai was rather insistent that your father and my father went on the training trip. I managed to clean up most of the mess, but as you can see, nothing is where it is supposed to be. Will you please help me?" Kasumi looked a little unsure of herself, for normally she never would have asked Ranma for help.  
  
Looking around, Ranma had to agree. Most of the smaller items such as vases, pictures and scrolls were in the appropriate places, but the rest of the furniture was still thrown about. He really had no choice but to help; he nodded his agreement, and watched the worries leave Kasumi's face.  
  
"Ranma, could you please go upstairs and change to some other clothes?"  
  
"Huh? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"  
  
"I need to have the mats lifted," Kasumi explained. "And you will most certainly soil what you are wearing." Kasumi's tone convinced Ranma that wearing the same dirty clothes to school the next day may be the cause of his own death.  
  
Ranma trudged up the stairs. Rule one in the Tendo household, he knew, is never upset Kasumi. He never knew why, but upsetting her was something that was not ever to be done. Ever.  
  
While Ranma was changing his clothes, he heard Akane announce her arrival home.  
  
"Maybe," Ranma thought, "she'll talk to me now." When finished, Ranma bolted down the stairs, looking forward to seeing his fiancee.  
  
"Ranma, in here!" The voice came from the tea room.  
  
Peering into the room, Ranma saw Kasumi wrestling with a floor mat and went over to help her.  
  
"Kasumi? Where's Akane? I thought I heard her come home."  
  
"She did, but I guess she went straight to her room to study." Kasumi swept the floor under the mat while Ranma held it up.  
  
"But she isn't talking to me. Is she still upset?" The confusion in Ranma's voice was obvious.  
  
"I would think so. She probably needs time to heal, so it may be best that well leave her alone for a little while." Kasumi motioned to Ranma to put the mat back and move the next one.  
  
"How long do you think this will last? She's not talking to anyone at school either, and only answers questions when she has to."  
  
"I don't know. The last time this happened, it was about three or four days, I think."  
  
"She's done this before? This doesn't seem like her. When she's mad, normally she wants to hit something." Ranma rubbed his head, a frequent target for Akane's angry blows.  
  
Stopping work for a moment, Kasumi looked at Ranma. "Ranma, she's not mad, but she is very upset. A life long dream was destroyed by something that she could do nothing about. It was nothing you did; there was nothing you could have done to prevent her from getting upset. In fact, from what Nabiki told me last night, you probably did the only thing anyone could have done yesterday."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma moved another mat for Kasumi.  
  
"You gave her bag to her after school, didn't you?" Kasumi waited for Ranma's concurrence. "You picked up all of her papers and books afterwards, didn't you?" Kasumi didn't bother to wait for Ranma this time, and continued after she pointed to another mat that had to be moved. "And you gave her book back." Kasumi emphasized the word "book". Ranma knew what she was saying.  
  
"Uh, uh. But why is she not talking to me?"  
  
"Nabiki said that when you gave the book to her, it was wet. When Akane saw the book, she thought it was ruined, just like her chance to play Juliet."  
  
Distraught, and feeling that he's to blame, Ranma countered Kasumi and said, "But I didn't get the book wet! She hit the bag and everything flew out!"  
  
Kasumi became alarmed, she did not want to upset Ranma. "I know, Ranma. You did the right thing. I'm sure she knows what really happened."  
  
Ranma still looked a little worried. Kasumi continued, "If she's not talking in a couple of days, I'll see what I can do."  
  
Ranma and Kasumi completed the final two mats before separating and going different directions; Ranma to the dojo, Kasumi to the kitchen.  
  
While preparing dinner, Kasumi heard her middle sister arrive.  
  
"Nabiki! In here!" Kasumi wanted to talk to Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki proceeded to walk to where the chips are kept, but was stopped by Kasumi.  
  
"Don't! You'll spoil dinner." Kasumi made sure that Nabiki heard her, then continued, "Father and Uncle Saotome went on a training trip, and they will probably gone at least a week."  
  
Kasumi started cut some cabbage.  
  
"Hmm." Nabiki started thinking how she could profit from this development. Not coming up with any ideas that she thought that she could get past her sister, Nabiki changed the direction of her thoughts. "So, how's Akane? Did she say anything?"  
  
"No. She didn't, and Ranma's worried about her." Kasumi kept slicing cabbage, each cut was precisely the exact same length, each stroke was made with the exact same speed. As she cut, she never looked at her knife in her hands, for years of practice in the kitchen honed her skills to a very sharp edge.  
  
"I know. Ranma spent all of lunch sitting in the hallway, guarding the door while Akane ate. He wouldn't even let Yuka in."  
  
"Oh, dear. He's worse than I thought." The calm that Kasumi had moments earlier left. She cleared the cutting board of the cabbage and held a large piece of ginger root in her hands. "Sister, we have to make sure they start talking before Father comes home."  
  
"Why? It'll be quiet around here for once."  
  
Picking up the knife again, Kasumi converted the root into tiny little pebbles of ginger. As the knife gained speed, Kasumi spoke to her sister, "If Akane doesn't talk to any of us, and especially not to Ranma, Ranma may resort to doing something to get her talking. You know him, he can't sit by and do nothing."  
  
Watching her sister talk, think and chop food, Nabiki did not dare argue with her sister, lest something happen to the knife. "Just what is your idea?"  
  
"If I told you, it might not work. Trust me, this is for the better for all of us." Kasumi smiled, and resumed cutting food for dinner.  
  
"That knife makes a convincing argument," Nabiki noted as she left the kitchen.  
  
********** ********** ********** ********** ********** **********  
  
Authors Notes: I'm publishing this at the urging of my wife. ;-)  
  
This originally started with me wondering while reading about the Moxibustion chart, "how did he get those pictures taken?" I wrote a small bit and decided I needed a beginning and an end. Then I wasn't happy with how it started, so the original beginning was tossed.  
  
I still don't like the beginning. Oh, well.  
  
Oh. I took some liberties with certain aspects of law and culture in Japan. Some of this is a deliberate plot device. You'll see it when it happens. 


	2. Chapter 2

When dinner was served a few hours later, Kasumi made a request of Akane and Ranma.  
  
"Akane, I expect you to be civil at the dinner table. Ranma, you too." Kasumi looked at the youngest children, and decided that she was going to have to treat them as such while the fathers were gone.  
  
"But it's not my fault..." Ranma started to protest.  
  
"I expect the two of you to leave your problems elsewhere when you sit down to eat" Kasumi said. Kasumi felt out of sorts, but she thought if her father had been more firm with Akane and Ranma, they probably would not fight as much. She was not comfortable in being this assertive, but she felt she had no choice as long as she was responsible for the family.  
  
Kasumi watched Ranma settle into a comfortable position. As usual, his face was easy to read, a look of frustration crossed it. "Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Ranma really thinks he is innocent."  
  
"Understood."  
  
After hearing Ranma agree, Kasumi faced Akane to see if she would offer any resistance. Kasumi expected to see anger in Akane's expression, but she saw bewilderment instead. A slight nod by Akane was all the indication that Kasumi needed to know that Akane would behave.  
  
When the four young adults completed dinner, Akane quietly asked if she could be excused to go to her room, and left. As they listened to Akane head up the stairs, Nabiki pulled out a magazine to read, Kasumi started to gather the plates, while Ranma sat in his seat.  
  
"Ranma, could you please take the tray and platters into the kitchen?" asked Kasumi as she filled her hands with the plates.  
  
Ranma looked at her, then at the table. He was dumbfounded that she asked him to clean the table. "What?" he thought, "This is a girl's job! No way I'm doing this! Why couldn't she ask Nabiki? She's doing nothing but read some stupid magazine."  
  
Ranma sat at his seat, looking at the empty platters on the table. He felt sated, for Kasumi cooked her normal excellent meal. But there was the growing feeling that something wasn't quite right, and having Kasumi stare at him seemed to make that feeling of "wrongness" grow. Unable to determine exactly what it was that was nagging him, he tried to get Kasumi to stop looking at him, so he said, "Why can't Nabiki do it? She's not doing anything."  
  
Nabiki looked at Ranma, "Oh, no. Don't you drag me into this. I have to go up and study." With that, Nabiki extracted herself from the floor, and went upstairs.  
  
Since Nabiki had extracted herself from the situation, Ranma felt exposed. Kasumi kept looking at him, and for some reason, he knew that she would be able to outlast him no matter what he did. Still, this was a challenge, and he tried to resist giving in to doing such an unmanly function.  
  
"Well" Kasumi asked Ranma with a stern face, "are you going to help me or not?"  
  
Ranma had a choice, either use the same excuse as Nabiki, which would certainly upset Kasumi, or help her. It was an easy choice in the end, Kasumi's stare wore him down. Ranma stood up, and gathered the platters and placed them on the tray. By the time he had everything that was on the table and on the floor balanced in his hands, the nagging feeling was no longer bothering him. Trying to analyze what just happened, Ranma thought, "I just can't win against Kasumi. Never have." He started to smile, and when he tried not to, he found it harder not to smile, especially when he saw Kasumi smiling cheerfully at him. "And probably never will win" was his last thought as he headed into the kitchen.  
  
While doing the dishes, Kasumi kept Ranma talking by asking him questions about his day at school, and the myriad challenges he faced. When they had finished, both of them were surprised to discover that they had been working for over a half-hour when they thought it was only ten or fifteen minutes.  
  
Ranma left the kitchen in good spirits, having talked to someone that listened to what he said and did not nit-pick every little thing he said. Kasumi was glad that Ranma was trying to be accepted in school for who he was and that he was having some level of success.  
  
Unfortunately, Kasumi was concerned that Ranma was having a hard time fitting in. While she understood that anyone living alone with Uncle Saotome would certainly have a few "problems" in life, she had to admit to herself that the magnitude of "problems" that Ranma faced were formidable. She stood in the kitchen and looked at the sink. Part of her mind was working on planning the meals the next day, while another part was trying to find a way reduce some of the stress Ranma was going through.  
  
Deciding what she was going to make the next day, Kasumi started to pull out recipes from book just as Nabiki walked in search of a snack.  
  
"Nabiki, we need to talk about something," Kasumi said as she flipped through a well-worn cookbook.  
  
Popping her head out of the cupboard, Nabiki looked at her older sister and with a sigh, said, "What is it?"  
  
Kasumi knew that she was going to have to lead her sister down a narrow thought path, so she closed her book, asked, "You realize that since Akane isn't speaking to Ranma, he probably will not study, right?"  
  
With a slight snide tone of voice, Nabiki said, "So? Not my problem." She muttered something about not finding any chips and then grabbed some crackers.  
  
Kasumi wasn't happy with Nabiki's tone. Not only did Nabiki fail to understand the implications of Ranma failing in school, but also the general disrespectful tone of her response.  
  
"Ahem. If Ranma fails, it will hurt the dojo's reputation. If the reputation hurts, there will be less money. We cannot afford that." As Kasumi stated her truths, she found that she was depressed. The family finances were not all that great to start with, and although the school's reputation is good, thanks in part to Ranma's stellar successes in fighting, there hasn't been either enough students or royalties to afford any luxuries. If Ranma really did start failing academically, it would probably eliminate any opportunity for Ranma to teach, and therefore doom the school to extinction.  
  
"And so what do you want me to do? Take Ranma's tests?" Nabiki said, her voice betrayed her annoyance.  
  
Unsure whether she was able to relay the importance to Nabiki, Kasumi continued, "Could you please help Ranma study? I know he complains a lot, and that he is not the best student, but he does do well if he's properly..." Kasumi stopped to think for a short moment. She didn't want to unnecessarily insult Ranma, but she did want to accurately describe him. Kasumi continued speaking, "... guided."  
  
"You want me to baby sit Ranma? I don't think so. He's old enough to study himself."  
  
"Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Nabiki misunderstands." Smiling at her sister, Kasumi tried a different approach, and said, "Think about how Uncle Saotome trains Ranma. He pushes Ranma to go all out. If Ranma makes a mistake, Ranma feels pain. This happens every day."  
  
"And at some dark hour in the morning. I know they train all the time. And they do it loudly," Nabiki whined.  
  
It was no secret to Kasumi that Nabiki really disliked being awoken when they "train" in the morning. She even complained that the only thing she gained by the early morning ruckus was that her school attendance record improved a little.  
  
Kasumi began to smile brightly, apparently her sister is beginning to understand. "Yes. The key is consistency. They do it every day, at the same time, without fail. That is one reason why Ranma does so well."  
  
Taking a bite, Nabiki's face fought not to smirk. With a mouth full of crackers, Nabiki asked, "So you want me to beat Ranma up everyday?"  
  
"I want you to train Ranma how to study. You are a better student that I ever was. You have good study habits. You go to cram school, and you keep up. You know what Ranma is supposed to know. I've been out of school too long to help him." Deep down, Kasumi knew she could tutor Ranma, but she felt too far removed from classes to be of any use to him.  
  
Kasumi watched Nabiki pause for a moment. There was a bit of fire in younger sister's eyes as her ego blazed from the stroking that she received. Then the fire went out.  
  
"Sorry," Nabiki said. "I don't have time to teach and train macho boy how to study. I have too many things going on in my life, and I don't need the annoyance."  
  
Kasumi suddenly remembered what she went through when she attended cram school, so she tried a different tack when she asked, "What's the difference between what you are studying in cram school and what you learned in the last couple of years?"  
  
"Nothing. It's all review."  
  
"And if you tutored Ranma or helped him study, would you be reviewing things you already know?" Kasumi began to feel an imminent success. Obviously her sister didn't see the trap that was being laid.  
  
With resignation in her voice, Nabiki relented. "Okay. I'll help him study."  
  
With a happy voice, Kasumi said, "Thank you, Nabiki. I know you will do a good job!"  
  
In the back of her own mind, Kasumi was aware of the danger that Nabiki might add new stress to Ranma's life.  
  
Sighing, accepted her fate, and she said, "Yes, Kasumi. The stupid jock and I will both study hard." With that, Nabiki turned and headed out the door.  
  
Kasumi called out as soon as Nabiki stepped out of the kitchen, "Nabiki, Ranma has a language quiz tomorrow. I expect him to pass."  
  
The middle sister had one thought, "Damn."  
  
At her door, Nabiki stopped and looked at her room, and thought, "Why do I have to do this? I don't want to. I don't even like Ranma. Grrrr. Kasumi." Nabiki turned around and knocked on Ranma's door.  
  
"Ranma, would you like to study with me?" Nabiki hoped that if he said "no", she would not have to help him.  
  
Opening the door, Ranma answers, "Nope."  
  
Just as Nabiki thought she had a victory, she hears Kasumi climbing the stairs, and thought, "Damn! She must have heard everything. Again."  
  
It was when Kasumi had reached the top of the stairs when she said, "Ranma, I know you have a written language quiz tomorrow. You need to study for it."  
  
Inside, Nabiki was grimacing. The last thing she wanted was Kasumi getting on her case. When Kasumi started down stairs she started to relax a moment, but almost panicked when she saw that Ranma's face had just opened up in surprise. "Oh, crap!" she thought, "this doofus can't remember his own test schedule. Just how did you make it this far without being expelled? Sheesh!"  
  
Suddenly Nabiki realized an opportunity just opened up for her, and offered her services to Ranma, "I'll help you for a thousand yen."  
  
"Wait a moment." Ranma went back to his bed roll to find the money.  
  
"Here's yer money," Ranma said as he shoved several coins at Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki looked at the coins. It wasn't that she didn't want the money, it was that she was deep in thought trying to determine how much she charge Ranma if the period of silence lasted for more than a few days. She reached for the coins, turned around, and instructed her new student, "Come on, let's get started."  
  
Two hours later, they finished studying. Ranma left for his room feeling as if he just went through a long wind-bag session with his father, while Nabiki collapsed on her bed, wondering how to get even with Kasumi for saddling her with such a task.  
  
Nabiki wasn't surprised that Ranma had not studied for the quiz, but was surprised at how fast he was able to learn what she thought was the minimum to pass the quiz in just two hours. She noted Ranma responded to constructive criticism very well, and that when carefully complimented, Ranma actually worked harder. The biggest shock, though, was finding out Ranma could be a good person to study with. Still, it was hard work to set the proper example for Ranma and study hard.  
  
More than once she had caught him watching her, learning how she studied. His scrutiny was intense, she felt frightened that he could concentrate the way he did, for the minutest details of what she did must have been analyzed and catalogued. When she noticed that he started mimicking her pacing, she realized that she had to be careful.  
  
***  
  
Kasumi had just entered Akane's room, and was wondering if the walls needed a new coat of paint.  
  
With concern for her baby sister, Kasumi asked, "How are you feeling?"  
  
Akane, lying on the bed with a magazine over her face, didn't move a muscle as she replied "Okay."  
  
"Not saying much, huh?" Kasumi said as she sat next to Akane's feet on the bed. Trying to get Akane to open up when she was angry wasn't hard to do, but it did take patience. She continued with her probing, "Is school okay?"  
  
"Yes," Akane said, her voice sounding tired and angry to Kasumi.  
  
Kasumi looked around the room, seeking other clues of how the youngest sibling was faring. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, such as new large holes in the wall, Kasumi asked another question, "You know Ranma is worried about you."  
  
Akane peered over her magazine, looked at her sister with a suspicious eye, and with a milder tone than with the single syllables uttered before, she said, "I know. He guarded the door at lunch today."  
  
Kasumi gently rubbed Akane's feet and asked, "Why would he do that?"  
  
Akane's face started to relax, and with calmly said, "He came in and wanted to talk during lunch. I said I wanted to be left alone. I didn't ask him to do anything."  
  
Kasumi got up, and walked over to her sister, then whispered into her ear, "I think he likes you."  
  
Akane blushed, leaving no doubt in Kasumi's mind that she likes him to.  
  
Kasumi smiled at Akane, and teasingly said, "Oh, look at this! You like him, don't you!"  
  
Akane's response was to blush some more.  
  
"So," Kasumi asked, "why don't you talk to him?"  
  
The excess blood drained from Akane's face, as she answered, "I'm not ready yet. I'm not sure he is either."  
  
Kasumi backed away a little bit, feeling a little better. "You should let him know you are all right."  
  
"I will. Don't worry, I will."  
  
"Soon, okay?" Kasumi wanted the two of them talking soon, she wasn't sure if she could handle things if someone started to rebel.  
  
Akane nodded.  
  
As Kasumi started to leave, she glanced at what Akane was reading. It was one of Nabiki's fashion magazines.  
  
"That's a first." Kasumi noted.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Ranma was ready for school, and at Kasumi's insistence, waiting for Nabiki to get ready. Akane had left early for school while he was cleaning up after his morning workout, he now had to walk to school with Nabiki. After waiting a few minutes, Nabiki came down the stairs just as Kasumi exited the kitchen with their lunches. As Kasumi handed the lunches to them, Nabiki stopped at the door for a moment.  
  
"Kasumi, you know something? It looks like the porch needs some work. Did they fight out there?"  
  
Nabiki knew Kasumi's answer was going to be, and then looked at Ranma and baited him, "Ranma, do you think you could help Kasumi after school today?"  
  
Kasumi replied with mild surprise in her voice, "That's okay Nabiki, I don't need Ranma's help."  
  
Ranma didn't disappoint Nabiki when he said in an apathetic voice, "Uh, okay. I don't have anything else going on."  
  
"Ah! Worked just as planned! Now she'll have to deal with him for a few hours," Nabiki mused to herself. She knew that Kasumi would not deny any additional help if it was offered, and there was no way, she thought, that Ranma would allow the house and dojo look like a disaster zone.  
  
***  
  
After school, Ranma remembered his obligation to help Kasumi, and found her cleaning the shoe boxes when he walked in. Instead of announcing himself, he simply said "Uh!" to Kasumi.  
  
"Why, hello Ranma!" Kasumi was cheerful, for she had completed her chores for the day and was looking forward to working with Ranma. For a change, she would be able to talk to someone while working.  
  
"Hiya, Kasumi. I suppose ya want me to get ready?" Ranma remembered how he felt the previous day when Kasumi embarrassed him just by looking at him. Not wanting to repeat the experience, he to went his room to change into what he wore the day before.  
  
As he bounded down the stairs, he heard Kasumi say, "I've prepared a small snack for you in the kitchen, next to the sink. When you are ready, we'll start sweeping the porch."  
  
Looking around, he saw brooms, dust pans, and various carpentry tools.  
  
"How can she be so organized? Does she leave nothing to chance?" Ranma wondered. In his travels with his father, Ranma had met some efficient housewives, but none seem to match the effectiveness or the grace Kasumi displayed every day. Stepping into the kitchen, Ranma saw a plate of sliced fruit and a napkin for him. He wolfed the food down, barely remembering to wipe his face and hands with the napkin before heading into the living room where he saw Kasumi inspecting the broom for pebbles or other hard objects.  
  
"Thanks for snack, Kasumi. Now where do I start?" Ranma wanted to get this over with so he could start his afternoon training, but he knew that he was going to have to do this job Kasumi's way, and the way Kasumi did things left no room for improvising or error.  
  
Pointing to the bent doorframe and the ruined patio, Kasumi started giving directions on what to do. While Ranma fixed broken boards and reseated the doors, Kasumi cleaned up after him, all the while they made small talk about little events at school and at home. By the time they had finished, it was time for Kasumi to start dinner.  
  
"Thank you Ranma-kun. Your help was invaluable." Kasumi was thankful; Ranma easily replaced and repaired the patio, and followed her instructions exactly. Not once did he complain, although she knew that he would rather been training. Best of all, from her perspective, Ranma did try to keep up with her desire for conversation, even if the occasional subject matter was not of interest.  
  
"No problem, Kasumi. This was a good workout in itself."  
  
Ranma wasn't lying, Kasumi observed. Rather than using all the tools at his disposal, he used his hands and brute strength. Some of the boards were hard to remove without tools, and he tried driving the nails into the replacement boards by hand. When he was finished, she saw redness on his hands and arms from his efforts.  
  
Both of them left the porch with the satisfaction that the job was done. Kasumi went to the kitchen to start dinner, Ranma to his room, to change for a run and practice. 


	3. Chapter 3

After dinner that night, Ranma saw that Kasumi was holding the plates in her hands, looking him expectantly.  
  
"Ahem," she said, making sure she had his attention.  
  
Ranma looked at Kasumi, then at Nabiki, who was reading another magazine, and back at Kasumi. Sensing that the rules have changed permanently, he gathered the remaining platters and trays, and followed Kasumi into the kitchen to do the dishes. When done, he went to his room to ignore his homework. After a few minutes of wishing that his book bag would go away, Nabiki called him into her room to study.  
  
"No escape..." Ranma muttered as he entered Nabiki's room.  
  
"What was that?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"Nothin'," Ranma replied as he dropped his books and sat down on the floor next to his now-spilled book bag.  
  
"Oh, for a moment, I thought you said something about no escaping from the witch." Nabiki had a mischievous grin on her face.  
  
Ranma's eyes went white, and he started waving his hands in panic. "I didn't say that, really! Don't you go putting words in my mouth!"  
  
Without a change in her smile, Nabiki said, "Oh, and I just thought you were afraid that I could read your mind."  
  
Nabiki saw an expression of fear show on Ranma's face and tried to take advantage of the situation. "Mister Macho Martial Artist actually thinks I can read his mind!" she thought. "Oh, god! I can't believe it! What to do next..."  
  
Standing up, she walked over to Ranma. Ranma had shifted position, and was now sitting in a lotus position, his frightened look on his face slowly changing to one of calmness.  
  
Nabiki moved his book bag a few feet away and studied Ranma's face, and said, "You know, meditation really doesn't work. All I have to do is distract you a little, and POOF! Your mind is even easier to read than before."  
  
Then the middle Tendo sister walked around Ranma, and thought aloud so Ranma would hear her. "Now how should I distract you?" she said. "I don't think startling you will work, so it has to be something that makes you uncomfortable. Now, let me see," Nabiki stood in Ranma's vision, making sure that he was listening and looking at her, "how can I make you uncomfortable."  
  
Nabiki thought about how to rattle Ranma for a few seconds, then a great idea appeared in her head. She walked up to Ranma, and put her face close to his, far closer than what would normally be comfortable to him. She could feel the heat coming off his face and watched a slow blush develop on his cheeks for a moment before she said in a husky voice, "Ranma, I know something you don't know."  
  
She moved behind Ranma, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaned against his body and breathed hotly in his ear, "And I promised I never tell any one." Brushing his pigtail off to one side, she felt Ranma's resolve crack when he shivered.  
  
Not yet done, she put her lips very close to Ranma's ear and Nabiki continued in very sultry voice, "But I'll make an exception in your case." As she spoke, her voice became quieter until it was almost a whisper. Pausing, she breathed softly in Ranma's hair and caressed his neck. She gently leaned into his back and lightly touched his cheek.  
  
Ranma was holding his breath and was sweating so much he needed a sponge to wipe dry. Nabiki gently pulled back and slowly slid her hands off his neck. Gently touching his skin, her hands slid under his shirt and down his torso. Ranma graduated from a shiver to a quake.  
  
Suddenly, Nabiki pulled her arms off him and simultaneously said, but not loudly, "Boo!"  
  
"Aaaaa!" Ranma yelled as jumped and reached the ceiling, trying to find a hold on the smooth plaster to get away from Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki fell on the floor, laughing, tears running out of her eyes. "Oh, oh," she tried to say, "that was perfect!"  
  
Between fits of laughter, she tried to apologize to Ranma when he landed on the floor, and was checking to see if he had wet his pants. "Sorry Ranma, I had to do that. It was just too easy!"  
  
When Ranma caught his breath, he smiled at Nabiki, "Just wait, I'll get even."  
  
"Good luck, you are going to neeeeeed it!" Nabiki found herself looking forward to whatever Ranma could come up with. If nothing else ever happened between the two of them, she thought, she'll always remember how well she set up Ranma.  
  
A few minutes later, they were quietly studying.  
  
***  
  
Nabiki lightly dinged Ranma's head, "No more food for you. You are being a pig." She reaches for his bento box, and closes the lid.  
  
Ranma's stomach growled.  
  
"You can be hungry. Until you can eat lunch like us humans, you will be hungry. Besides, do you see anybody here that is going to eat your lunch while you are still holding it?" Nabiki said as she looked at Ranma, who was staring at his food; she can see that he's about to drool. Trying to bring him back to reality, she tapped his arm and said, "Earth to Ranma. Come in Ranma. Are you there?"  
  
In an exasperated tone, Ranma responded, "Yes, Nabiki. I'm here. I get the point. Now can I eat?"  
  
Nabiki let a small smile escape, having earned a minor victory. She decided to reward Ranma, and said, "Yes Ranma, you can eat if you promise to eat politely."  
  
Since his stomach was sending urgent signals to his brain, Ranma agreed. He reached for his bento, only to have Nabiki slap his hands.  
  
With anger in his voice, Ranma asked, "What'd ya do that for? I said I'd eat politely."  
  
Nabiki relished her role as teacher, responded sternly, as if she's addressing a six year old, "Being polite, Ranma, means asking that the food be passed to you. Eating isn't just chewing and swallowing."  
  
Ranma stifled a sigh and said, "Nabiki-sempai, I would thank you very much if you could please pass me my lunch."  
  
"Why, certainly, Ranma-kun. Here you go."  
  
"Thank you. You are most gracious."  
  
Ranma and Nabiki kept up the exaggerated politeness throughout the meal, making a game of it.  
  
***  
  
It was at the end of school on the fourth day of silence that Akane spoke to Ranma.  
  
"Ranma, can we talk?"  
  
"About time. Yeah." Ranma was happy that she finally opened up a little.  
  
Akane looked at her feet, then at Ranma. "I'm sorry for not speaking. It was childish of me."  
  
With a forgiving voice, Ranma tried to make his fiancee feel better by saying, "Aw, don't worry about it none, Akane." Ranma had decided earlier that he wasn't going to hold anything against Akane. "Why'd you stop talking to me in the first place?" he asked.  
  
She nervously looked at Ranma and said, "I needed to work some things out. Stuff has been happening too fast for me to deal with, and I wanted to think."  
  
Ranma stood there silently, unsure of what to say or do.  
  
Akane continued, "When I was told that I wasn't going to be Juliet, everything came to a head, and I became mad at everything." She held her book bag in front of her and started walking home with Ranma beside her, walking on the fence.  
  
Thinking Akane was done, Ranma opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Akane.  
  
"Ranma," Akane stopped, and motioned Ranma to come down off the fence. "I've been doing some thinking."  
  
Ranma's stomach just left him. He jumped down and stood next to Akane.  
  
"The last few days have been very peaceful. Nobody has bothered you or me. It was quiet."  
  
Ranma crossed his arms and leaned against the fence quietly for a few moments. Then he smiled and looked at her, and said, "Yeah, it has been, ain't it."  
  
"You've been avoiding everyone, haven't you?"  
  
Ranma shook his head and answered her, "Na-uh. Kasumi got me fixin' the damage that the old pervert caused. That midget really busted up the house."  
  
"He did, didn't he?" Akane almost smiled; she realized that her sister had kept Ranma busy the last four days so he wouldn't have the time for trouble to find him.  
  
Ranma and Akane stood there for a moment without saying a word. At the same time, and without another word said, Akane turned to walk home and Ranma jumped on the fence.  
  
As they walked, Akane looked at her fiancee. "Why did you avoid me? I thought you would at least do something," Akane asked in a disappointed tone.  
  
"I didn't wanna to avoid you, but somehow I would've gotten you mad at me for something" Ranma said.  
  
Akane was touched by his admission. She reached out, and touched his hand, trying to hold it. She could see that Ranma became uncomfortable, and there was a slight tug on his hand as if he wanted to pull away.  
  
Finally, at the gate of the house, Akane let go of Ranma's hand and faced him.  
  
"The last four days have been very peaceful and quiet. I know you've been behind the door everyday at lunch. Thank you." Akane bowed deeply to Ranma, and then she stepped closer to him.  
  
"Ranma, don't tell anyone we talked, okay? Please?" She ran into the house.  
  
Stood at the gate, collecting his thoughts, wondering if things just might work out. 


	4. Chapter 4

The dinner table that evening was awkward; Ranma was still trying to sort his thoughts about his conversation with Akane that afternoon and Akane was being a chatterbox after her self-imposed isolation.  
  
When he was finished eating, Ranma knew the dinner was over when Kasumi nodded at him, so he started to clear the table and helped Kasumi with the dishes. When finished in the kitchen, he left to study with Nabiki, as he had the previous three nights.  
  
Juggling several books with one hand, Ranma knocked at Nabiki's door.  
  
The door opened, and Nabiki watched Ranma juggle three books and a notebook in one hand and with the other, he scratched his ear. Shaking her head, she said to dexterous aqua-transsexual, "Ranma, don't you think you should study with Akane?"  
  
Not losing a beat, Ranma asked, "Why?"  
  
Nabiki's jaw hardened, and blurted, "She's your fiancée, doof!"  
  
After jerking his head back at the intensity of Nabiki's voice, Ranma then left Nabiki's door and walked to Akane's door.  
  
Without knocking, Ranma entered, and asked, "Akane, can I come in and study with you?"  
  
Akane didn't even turn around from her desk and gave him her permission, "Sure. But you gotta behave."  
  
Catching each book as he sat down, Ranma replied, "I always behave!"  
  
An almost inaudible "hurmph!" escaped Akane's lips.  
  
The study session started with this stressful beginning, but they both settled down and worked on their homework, occasionally stopping to chat about other things going on in their lives. It was an hour and a half later when Ranma walked out of her room.  
  
***  
  
Just before bedtime, Kasumi knocked and entered Akane's room.  
  
"How did it go?" Kasumi asked Akane how the study session went.  
  
"Oh, okay. We didn't talk much," Akane said as she climbed off the bed and started stretching on the floor.  
  
"You know Ranma is trying hard not to upset you." Kasumi had to state the obvious to make Akane appreciative of Ranma's efforts  
  
Akane nods, and with her leg pulled past her ears, told her truth, "It's obvious. But there's been a lot of upsetting already done."  
  
She sat up and looked at Kasumi before continuing, "I've been thinking about the engagement, and all the problems it has caused." She paused, then looks at her hands before continuing, "Ranma is, uh, Ranma. Ever since he's been here things have been crazy.  
  
"I didn't know what to do." She started wringing her hands and her voice quivered nervousness, "I mean, it's not like I don't ll...ll...like him or anything. It's that he can be a great guy, and he's cute, and he can be so chivalric at times."  
  
Kasumi looked upon her youngest sister in amazement.  
  
Akane didn't miss the look on Kasumi's face, "I just wish the engagement wasn't so hard," she said.  
  
Spreading her legs and leaning forward to stretch some more, she took a breath, and continued in a monotone, "A couple of days ago I made a list of all of his good points and his bad points. I used two pieces of paper, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to hate him."  
  
Kasumi looked at sister, and saw tears forming in Akane's eyes for the second time that day.  
  
Akane pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Akane sat quietly before saying anything. "He's a good person," she blurted. Taking a deep breath, Akane let Kasumi know what she thought, "He's a wonderful friend. And I don't want to hurt him." Akane sniffled.  
  
It was with a quizzical look on her face that Kasumi asked, "Now what are you going to do?"  
  
"Nothing," Akane said with a smile. "If that idiot thinks I'm going to change, he's got another think coming!"  
  
The grin on Akane's face was full of determination, and Kasumi left the room knowing that her youngest sister would be fine.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Ranma found both Akane and Nabiki were waiting for him at the front door. Happy that they both were going to be with him that morning, Ranma chatted incessantly about any random thought that popped in his head.  
  
Even with the normal harassment from Kuno and the idiocy of the school, Ranma considered that day to be the best day he had in a long time; after all, Akane was talking to him and he and Nabiki were able to maintain a good-natured banter commenting about the various denizens of the high school.  
  
Unfortunately, the peace was not to last. At dinner things started to fall apart again when Ranma made an announcement before getting up to take the dishes to the table.  
  
"Nabiki, I gotta thank you. I missed only two questions on my quiz the other day!" Ranma stood and bowed to the middle daughter.  
  
Without any sense of modesty, Nabiki retorted, "Geez. Of course you did a good job. I tutored you! You should be thanking me!"  
  
"You idiot! So that's why you wouldn't let me see your paper," Akane yelled, upset again, partially because Ranma hid something from her, partially that he scored higher than she did on the quiz, but also that Nabiki implied that she's a better person to study with.  
  
Akane continued her rant with a bitter tone, "You never did that well when you studied with me. Hurmph!"  
  
"Hey, Nabiki went through all this last year. She knows what I gotta learn."  
  
For Akane, the next words out of Ranma's mouth could have only one outcome, "and she never hit me when I make a mistake."  
  
"Fine," Akane said in a clipped tone. Ranma had just chipped at her sense of self worth. She crossed her arms, sat like a stone and rumbled her anger at Ranma, "In fact, since Nabiki did such a good job, why don't you study with her all the time!" With that Akane left the room, stomping her feet.  
  
Ranma looked at Kasumi, scratched the back of his head and asked, "What'd I do this time?"  
  
Kasumi paused before giving her answer. "Akane is still a little upset. Please, be more careful with what you say."  
  
Nabiki was a bit more direct with her answer, "Good going, Ranma. You shouldn't have implied that Akane hits you all the time."  
  
Ranma tried to defend himself, "But she does!"  
  
Nabiki wanted to say something more, but decided to not add to the fire, thinking that Ranma often deserved to be whacked, and this was one of them.  
  
Knowing that the damage has been done, Kasumi motioned to Ranma that it was time to clear the table.  
  
Kasumi and Ranma were well into the stack of dishes, when Kasumi finally spoke again. "Ranma, thank you for helping with the house repairs."  
  
In a quiet and contemplative tone, Ranma responded, "You're welcome, Kasumi."  
  
Kasumi rubbed a tiny bit of food off a plate, making sure that there was not any residue. Meekly, Kasumi asked, "Do you think you can help me after school next week? I mean, it looks like everything is done, but I could still use a little extra help."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Ranma agreed. It was several seconds before Ranma finally registered what he just said. "What did I just get drafted for?" he thought.  
  
As the two of them started to put the dishes away, Ranma started wondering just how he could make up with Akane. His shoulders shrank and he took a deep breath to try and fill an empty feeling in his gut.  
  
"Just relax Ranma," Kasumi's voice drifted into his ears. "Akane is not all that angry. Just avoid her for a little while, and whatever you do, try to avoid anything that will make her upset."  
  
Ranma sounded as if he were defeated by a whole set of emotions that he had no experience with. "Jeez. That'll be just about anything an' everything."  
  
"Well," Nabiki's voice came through the door, "you can start by leaving P- Chan alone for the time being."  
  
The thought of P-Chan in the same room with Akane incensed Ranma. His jaws clenched at the thought of Ryoga spending the night with Akane.  
  
Ranma couldn't determine if Nabiki had a smirk or her face was completely serious when she said, "You'd better if you want Akane to talk to you again."  
  
After weighing punting P-Chan into orbit and being the target of Akane's resulting anger versus just living with a bad situation, Ranma conceded to Nabiki, "I don't hafta like it, but okay."  
  
After a few moments of silence when Ranma put away his apron, Nabiki started to give Ranma the terms for continued tutoring. "Obviously you blew it with Akane tonight. And I know you still have to do your homework."  
  
Behind Ranma, Kasumi listened in to the discussion while folding her apron.  
  
Nabiki took out a small spiral pad of paper and started leafing though it, looking for something. When she found she looked at Ranma and started her negotiation.  
  
"I'm feeling generous, so I created a special rate for you." Nabiki looked at Ranma to gauge his reaction. She noted that he hadn't flinched, so she knew that he wasn't about to get angry, and had hopes of making a little bit of easy cash.  
  
What Nabiki saw behind Ranma stopped her plan cold before if unfolded any further. Kasumi was giving her a look that meant she had crossed the line. Kissing off yet an opportunity, Nabiki sighed.  
  
"Just come up when you're ready," Nabiki said, having gotten the hint from her sister not to potentially make things worse than they already are.  
  
An hour later, Ranma itched for a break when Nabiki broke the silence, "Ranma, why don't you see if Akane wants to join us?" Nabiki wanted to get Ranma out of her room; even after three days of having him study with her, she still felt uncomfortable due to the intensity of Ranma's concentration.  
  
Ranma sounded worried, "Uh, you sure it's safe?"  
  
"Go ahead, she wasn't all that angry." Nabiki tried to reassure Ranma, but wasn't sure that she succeeded.  
  
Ranma closed his books, and threw his things into his book bag, and walked to Akane's room and called through the door, "Akane? You hungry?"  
  
"Just a second," came Akane's voice.  
  
Ranma heard Akane shuffle around in her room, and just as he ran out of patience, she opened the door. Gently tugging his shirt, Akane prodded him, "Come on, you idiot. Let's go down stairs."  
  
Ranma felt better, it seemed she was back to normal.  
  
***  
  
Late Saturday afternoon, Ranma was enraptured by the tail end of a TV variety show where an African acrobat are picking up red blocks off the ground with their feet and throwing them to a teammate on the far side of the stage, who builds a bridge with the thrown blocks, again using his feet. The tosses started slowly, and by the time the bridge is halfway done, the blocks are being thrown so fast that it looks as if there was a red bar suspended above the stage. Then, as if by magic, the two acrobats trade positions and the thrower becomes the catcher and the catcher becomes the thrower. When the bridge was built, the show concluded, with the announcer showing a map that the touring group will be in Nerima the next day just after the lunch hour for a publicity event  
  
"Hey, I gotta go see that!" Ranma immediately saw the potential application of what the footwork that African acrobats could do for martial arts. With a bound, Ranma rushed to find Akane and ask her to join him next day.  
  
***  
  
Upstairs, while Ranma and Kasumi were doing the dishes, the middle daughter was going through some pictures.  
  
"Okay, this is a keeper. So is this one. And that one too," Nabiki muttered as she was reviewing her photograph collection, trying to figure out which ones she would sell at first opportunity. Most of the pictures in front of her were of Ranma in his female form, but a few were of him as a male.  
  
Nabiki looked at the three piles of photos in front of her. One pile has ten photos, the other was more than twice the size. The third stack had only two pictures. Looking at the stacks, Nabiki felt kind of weird. Contemplating her emotions, she wondered, "Now why is it that I can't sell these two pictures?"  
  
She picked up the two pictures in question, and looked at them. Nabiki couldn't see what was so special about the two prints, both pictures were of Ranma in her room studying. One shot had Ranma sitting on the floor with a big grin on his face, his hand held up with a big "V". In the second shot, Ranma was lying on his back with his hands behind his head and had a silly grin on his face as a pencil was balanced on the tip of his nose.  
  
Noticing that the both pictures were a focused little sharper than the others and the contrast was more lifelike, she remembered that she asked for and received permission to take these two pictures. Nabiki realized then that she'd been trapped. Wavering between anger and mirth, Nabiki decided that she was going to save those two pictures, and put them into her own personal journal. "As for the others, well, they can wait," she thought as she returned all but the two to her photo box.  
  
Realizing that Ranma would be arriving soon, she grabbed her books, and started to get ready. After she opened up her literature book, Nabiki's mind drifted aimlessly until the memory of Ranma thanking her jarred her awake. "Whoa. I don't need that," she thought.  
  
***  
  
Late Sunday morning, Ranma and Akane left the house to go to the canal confluence, where the African acrobats were to do their demonstration.  
  
"How much longer..." Ranma said, as he was becoming impatient. A crowd was gathering, and the few warm up acts had finished long ago.  
  
"Just wait, Ranma. It isn't even one yet." Akane stepped a little closer to Ranma. It was a cool day, and the air was nippy. Her gloved hand reached out for Ranma's and she held it.  
  
After a few more minutes, just as Ranma started to jump up and down to relieve boredom and inactivity, the acrobats arrived. The demonstration was similar to the previous night's television performance, except that the two acrobats switched sides several times.  
  
"Hey Akane, look at that," Ranma pointed to the footwork the acrobats did. "I can do that!"  
  
"Look at what, Ranma?" Akane watched the dancers, didn't see anything of note. The feet of the acrobats were a blur, moving far faster than she could discern.  
  
"That's the point. There isn't any difference between that and the Chestnut attack."  
  
Akane watched Ranma for the rest of the show. He intently studied the feet of the dancers, his eyes darted from one dancer to the next as they built their bridge. Occasionally she saw Ranma shift his weight from one foot to another to rhythm of some unheard drummer.  
  
At the end of the show, and on the walk home, Ranma constantly asked Akane if she thought he was making any mistakes. Akane had no idea, but his enthusiasm was infectious.  
  
***  
  
"Oh! Ran-chan!" Ukyo's voice called from behind them, and Ranma and Akane stopped to wait for her. Ukyo was carrying a large box; it didn't look heavy, but it was obvious that it was hard to carry because of its size.  
  
Ranma stepped forward to help Ukyo, but Akane stopped him. As Ukyo reached the two, Ranma called out, "Whatcha got?"  
  
Ukyo shifted the box, and Ranma had to catch it before it fell. Ukyo let go of the box, and Ranma was holding it. "A bunch of plastic bottles for sauces."  
  
Ranma placed the box on his head and started walking between Ukyo and Akane. When Ukyo asked what he going home from, Ranma started to describe the African dancers and what he was trying to learn.  
  
Akane started to sulk while Ranma started to demonstrate what he saw earlier in the day. When Ukyo said she found Ranma's story hard to believe, Ranma asked Akane for support. By this time, Akane was fuming. He had ignored her for the last hour and now he needs her help. she responded with, "Fine. Go ahead and spend the rest of the after noon with your CUTE fiancée.?  
  
By the end of the day, everyone in the Tendo household was exhausted. Ranma was was pooped because he was moving at full speed all day long, bouncing from one side of the dojo to the other in training; the three sisters were tired just because they watched Ranma do his dance.  
  
***  
  
The fathers still had not returned two days later when Ranma meekly entered Akane's room and caught her attention. "Akane, um, I gotta to, um, talk to you."  
  
Akane looks up from her needlepoint, obviously upset that that he's distracted her. "What is it, Ranma," she said.  
  
Ranma was a nervous wreck and rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. "I, eh, heard that, that, the Flower Center is putting on 'Romeo and Juliet' and..." Ranma falters.  
  
Ranma saw her eyes brighten; Akane knew that the Flower Center was a senior home, and they had been known to have some very good actors.  
  
"... and, uh... " Ranma stammered, under Akane's expectant. He scratched the back of his head with his left hand, while his right fiddled with his shirt. Eventually he took a massive breath of air.  
  
"I want you go," he finally said.  
  
Confused, Akane asked as she put her needlepoint down, "What?"  
  
Ranma almost blurted in frustration, "I said I'd like you to go see the play with me."  
  
Akane had a mischievous look in her eye when she asked, "So you want to see the play?"  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"No," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I don't think that's what you want."  
  
"Yes. I mean..." Ranma's expression looked like he was on a bus being driven by a community of crazed monkeys.  
  
"You mean what, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma took a deep breath and looked at Akane in the face. He thought back when he made the decision to take her to the play, and therefore committed himself fully to what he expected to be a long night of misery. He didn't expect that asking her out would be so hard, was worried that she was going to turn him down. Gathering his courage, he tried to put on a face of calmness before carefully enunciating, "I mean, I want to take you to the play."  
  
Watching the expression on Akane's face going from mildly annoyed to very happy was the reward that Ranma sought. A genuine smile spread across her face. "Yeah," Ranma thought, "this is the way it oughta be!"  
  
"Yes Ranma, I would love to see 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Flower Center with you. Thank you for asking." Akane gave him a short nod.  
  
Just as they were starting to come down from their emotional high there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Hey, lovebirds, how about a public conversation?"  
  
"Come on in, Nabiki," Akane said giddily.  
  
Nabiki, who couldn't miss the signs of happiness, couldn't resist teasing her sister, "So, what'd he do? Kiss you?"  
  
"He asked me to the show at the Flower Center!"  
  
"He what?" Nabiki asked, not believing what her sister said. "Four months of being engaged, and Ranma finally asked Akane out," she thought.  
  
A little calmer, Akane repeated her announcement to Nabiki, "He asked me to see 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Flower Center!"  
  
Ranma started squirming in the room, and started to stand up.  
  
Nabiki watched Ranma try to sneak past her and walk out the door, but she wasn't going to give Ranma the opportunity to escape. "Ranma," she inquired, "did you really ask Akane out? After all this time?"  
  
Nabiki knew she was smiling, she just hoped that Ranma didn't know that he was being lead into another trap.  
  
Ranma's reply was the single and cautiously said word, "Yup."  
  
"How wonderful," Nabiki said with a honey sweet voice. She thought about her next step, setting Akane up. An idea came to her. Turning to Akane, she asked, "Akane have you thought about what you are going to wear? You know it's a formal show, don't you?" Nabiki had never attended any shows at the Flower Center, but some of her classmates have been to a show earlier in the year as part of a class assignment, so she knew a few of the requirements for entrance.  
  
"No. I didn't know I had to dress up." Akane sat and had a pensive look on her face before declaring, "This could be fun. I'll have to buy something!"  
  
Nabiki fully well knew the answer, but asked anyway, "Ranma, do you have a nice suit?"  
  
"Nah. Pops said that formal stuff ain't something a martial artist should wear." The expression on Akane's and Nabiki's face warned him that he'd better go along with them, so he asked, "I need one?"  
  
Akane saved Nabiki from answering such a stupid question. "The shows at the Flower Center require a certain dress code. Nabiki just said it's a formal show. You will have to wear a suit or a tuxedo."  
  
"Aw, do I hafta? I don't like wearing stuff that'll restrict my fighting."  
  
"If you don't wear a suit or a tuxedo, you won't be admitted. If you aren't admitted, Akane won't be admitted. You don't want that to happen, do you?" Nabiki said, she was obviously enjoying this. "Besides, since everyone else will be dressed nice, if you wore your normal clothes, you will stand out like an ostrich in a colony of penguins."  
  
Frowning, Ranma replied with, "Oh," and left the room, realizing that this is one of those situations that he was going to be normal.  
  
***  
  
The next day, Akane asked if Ranma would get fitted for a tuxedo that afternoon after school.  
  
"You mean they gotta measure me?" Ranma sounded frightened. Being touched didn't appeal to Ranma. His tried to justify being touched by some stranger, and tried to put it in to context. "Fighting is one thing, the other guy is to hurt me. Doctors are okay too, since they were trying to heal me. G-g-g-g-girls are o-o-o-..." Ranma gave up on that line of thought and tried to put it in perspective of making Akane happy. That idea worked, and he calmed down.  
  
"Yes, they have to measure you," Akane said. "They have to order the right size pants, shirt and jacket. Oh, and shoes too."  
  
"Shoes? What's wrong with what I got?" This was sounding worse by the moment for Ranma.  
  
"Everything." Akane's voice indicated that there was to be no further arguing. "Just be ready after class."  
  
***  
  
At the end of the school day, Akane found Nabiki waiting by the front gate.  
  
"So, little sister, planning on taking Ranma to get sized? Mind if I come along?" Nabiki just had to go with them. This excursion promised to be interesting, and she didn't want to miss it. Having thought this through, she justified her presence to Akane with, "You'll end up paying full price without me."  
  
Nabiki saw the disappointment on Akane's face. Obviously, Akane thought she would do this alone with Ranma. Ready to be denied, not that it mattered since she planned on following anyway, Nabiki was surprised when she heard Akane's response.  
  
"Okay. You can come."  
  
Ranma picked that moment to show up, dropping in from almost nowhere. "Come on let's go."  
  
The three of them walked quickly out of the gate and down the street with Ranma leading the way. After a few blocks, Ranma looked back and then slowed down.  
  
"What is it this time? Kuno?" Nabiki asked. Over the last few weeks she's found him to be a wonderful source of gossip. She's also discovered that Ranma's life was interesting, and she loved to hear his stories, even if she had occasionally probe for the necessary details that allowed the story to make sense.  
  
"Nah. Gosunkugi seemed ta have another new stupid idea to make his life miserable. I just don' wanna be around when it blows up in his face." Ranma laughed.  
  
"He was tryin' to hide under the benches by the field some bag of stuff fell off of him. So he's trying to pick up a bazillion film thingies that was spillng everywhere. So me an the guys decided to sit an' watch him do his thing, and after a couple of minutes, he starts putting this big thingie on the back of the camera."  
  
Ranma held out his hands to give Nabiki and Akane an idea of what he was describing.  
  
"Oh," Nabiki said, "you mean preloaded film canister." Nabiki's eyebrows arched and commented, "Wow, that's an expensive camera."  
  
"Wuz a expensive camera."  
  
It was Akane's turn to ask, "Was?"  
  
"Yeah. So like I was saying, Gosunkugi had this big camera, and started taking pictures of me, and us guys started posing and stuff. For a while we were fun and all, but we started getting bored when he wouldn't stop taking pictures. So we went up and asked him why so many pictures he's taken'.  
  
"You know what he said?"  
  
Nabiki and Akane indicated they had no idea.  
  
"He hands his camera to Dai and tells him keep taking pictures of me and pulls out this book. In that book were some pictures of dirty dark guys in leaves. So Gosunkugi says that these guys think that if you take too many pictures taken, your soul gets stolen.  
  
"Me an Dai started busting up. Gosunkugi swiped the camera from Dai and said something about my 'domiz' and left."  
  
"Demise," Nabiki corrected Ranma.  
  
"Yah, demise. Whatever. Anyways, he tried following us and tripped over his bag, and stuff started flying all over the place.  
  
"That's when I thought it was a good time to get outta there. People started asking for copies of his pictures and I started to get this weird feeling that it's happened before."  
  
Nabiki found it hard to look at Ranma at that moment.  
  
***  
  
Before long, the three arrived at a small men's store.  
  
A dapper young man with too much grease in his hair met the three as soon as they stepped in. "Hello! Thank you for coming in to 'Well Dressed Man'! My name is Ichiro. How may be of assistance?" His hands would not stop moving; his movements were light and feathery. Ranma started to turn pale.  
  
"Ranma here," Nabiki indicated, "needs a tuxedo. Do you have something in a basic black with a back tie?"  
  
"Certainly, take a look at this," Ichiro gestured to a mannequin behind him. The tuxedo was a basic short tail with straight pleats on the breast. "If you notice, it is a beautiful, simple, yet elegant and beautiful tuxedo. The lines", starts caressing the shirt, "are classic. Do you like?"  
  
Ichiro watched Ranma look at the tuxedo and noted his expression hasn't changed. Thinking that something different was needed, he changed his tactics, "We do have something over here, far more fashionable, and makes a wonderful statement. Ranma, is it? You look like a man that needs attention brought to him, come with me." Ichiro waved his hand to bring Ranma over.  
  
Ranma pupils dilated as he looked at Akane, and whispered to her, "This guy is sending me signals that shouldn't be coming from another guy."  
  
Pushing Ranma towards Ichiro, "Go ahead Ranma, he won't bite" Akane said while stifling a laugh.  
  
"At least not hard!" Nabiki whispered in Akane's ear, but loud enough that Ranma could hear her. The two girls couldn't contain their mirth any longer, and started laughing earnestly.  
  
Ranma looked at the two laughing sisters with confusion on his face and walked to what must be fate worse than death.  
  
"So, what do you think?" the salesman asked to a now sweating Ranma. Ichiro had not meet many customers that were as masculine as the fine specimen that stood before him. He knew that he was doomed to fail, but his own heart fluttered when he saw this Adonis walked towards him.  
  
Ranma considered the new tuxedo. It was severely cut, had a pink ruffled shirt, long tails, a baby blue tie and a thing around the waist that looked like a colorful apron.  
  
"This is one of our signature pieces! The cummerbund, here, is pure Chinese silk!" Ichiro starts fondling the "apron" and continues, "The jacket is two toned, and if you notice the extra pockets here, and there." Ichiro had not taken his eyes of Ranma the whole time, his hands displaying the coat pockets as he described each feature, occasionally brushing his hands on the cummerbund.  
  
Pointing to the first tuxedo, Ranma indicated his choice. "Nah. I like the first one better."  
  
"Oh, the classic look. I should have known." Ichiro was disappointed in the boy's taste, but given that the next step was his favorite, he wasn't disappointed for long. "Kind sir, please come over here, by the mirrors."  
  
Ranma walked to the trio of mirrors, looking at his reflection. Ichiro started giving directions.  
  
"Ranma, lift up you arms like this," Ichiro demonstrated by raising his arms so they were level with his shoulders. Ranma complied, and Ichiro started to measure Ranma's arm length.  
  
"Oops! I dropped my tape!" Ichiro bent down to pick up his tape, glancing at Ranma both on the way down, and back up. Nabiki nudged Akane, and the two of them started laughing again.  
  
"Okay, I have to measure your waist and chest, so lift up your arms again please." Ichiro reached around Ranma, and started to fumble with his tape behind Ranma. "Oh. I just can't get a hold of the tape. Ah, now I have it." A few quick measurements, and stopping to write Ranma's waist down, he sighed, "Oh, what a specimen!"  
  
"Aw, man. Do you have to do all this? Can't you just let me try some stuff on, and be done with it?" Ranma's patience was beginning to wear thin.  
  
"Just two more measurements. I have to do your neck and your inseam. Please be patient. Stand tall. Very good. You work out, yes?" Ichiro had the tape around Ranma's neck and caressed Ranma's rat-tail for half a second.  
  
Ranma replied curtly, "No. I just get lots of exercise."  
  
"Let me measure your legs. Stand tall. That's good. Feet together." Ichiro tapped Ranma's legs to let him know that he wanted the legs closer together. When satisfied, he measured from the hip to the floor, letting his hands slide slowly down the outside of Ranma's leg. He walked around Ranma, looking at his front, and measured the other side. "Spread your feet slightly apart."  
  
Ichiro started to salivate. "Okay, I have to measure your inseams," he said. He bent over and instructed Ranma to widen his stance a little more.  
  
"Stand still," he instructed. Ichiro ran the tape with one end at the floor and held the other end just under Ranma's crotch. Occasionally Ranma moved a little, so he took his time to ensure that he had Ranma's measurement correct to the millimeter. Finally done, Ichiro stood up with wistfulness in his eyes and wrote the last of Ranma's measurements down.  
  
"One last question. Do you dress right or do you dress left?" Ichiro guessed that Ranma dressed right, his attempt to find out personally was foiled by Ranma's wiggling around.  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ranma had no clue what this effeminate man was asking.  
  
"You know, which side does 'it' rest? It makes a difference on how the pant's are cut."  
  
Ranma looked around and saw Akane and Nabiki convulsing with laughter on the floor at the far side of the store, gulped. "Uh, right."  
  
"I was right!" chirped the tailor. "Stay right here," he giggled as he skipped of to a back room, "I'm going to get a pair of trousers and a jacket that should fit you."  
  
A few moments later, Akane and Nabiki were standing by Ranma when Ichiro came back with a jacket, pants, shirt, tie, socks and shoes.  
  
Ichiro became disappointed; all hope of having fun disappeared now that the two the girls were next to Ranma. He pulled aside the door to a small closet and motioned to Ranma to enter, "Here, the changing room is here, change and come on out when you are ready."  
  
Ranma walked into the dressing room and shut the door behind him while and Ichiro went to the cash register.  
  
A few minutes later, a cry of frustration came from behind the door. Nabiki looked for Ichiro, then at Akane, who was also looking for the man with decidedly different sexual preferences. Nabiki shrugged her shoulders, and walked in the dressing room.  
  
"Aaaaa! What are you doing here?" Ranma was surprised and shocked that Nabiki walked in on him.  
  
"Hey, don't sweat it. I'm here to help. What's the problem?" Nabiki said as she looked at Ranma's chest. Ranma had the trousers on, but he needed more than a little help with the shirt.  
  
"There aren't any buttons! What kind of shirt is this?!"  
  
Nabiki walked up to Ranma, and pulled the shirt and Ranma closer to her. She looked at the shirt, and found the buttons hidden behind a fold. Starting at the top, she started to button Ranma's shirt. "Here Ranma, the buttons are there, you just have to know where to look. Here," having the first three buttons done, she pointed out where to find the buttons are on the shirt, and let him do the rest.  
  
When done, Ranma looked at Nabiki, leaning against the wall of his changing room. Sheepishly, he held his arms up, neither the cuffs nor the sleeves were buttoned. Nabiki closed her eyes, and shook her head, thinking, "How he can get dressed in the morning..."  
  
Having done the shirt, Nabiki walked out of the dressing room, leaving Ranma to deal with the socks and shoes.  
  
As she stepped out, Akane greeted her. "What were you doing in there?"  
  
"Oh, he was having problems with his shirt, so I helped him."  
  
"You walked right in there?" Akane was surprised at her sister's actions.  
  
"Yep. You should have seen his face when he saw me!" Nabiki giggled.  
  
Right then, Ranma stepped out of the dressing room. He was dressed, but poorly. Immediately Akane and Nabiki started fixing things, straightening seams, tucking in his shirt, and re-tying a shoe. When done, the girls stepped back and looked at Ranma.  
  
"Can't I get rid of this tie? It's choking me." Ranma's face was getting a little red.  
  
"No, Ranma. Stand still, I'm going to loosen the tie." Nabiki, tugged and pulled the tie loser, and then tucked the tie under Ranma's collar. "There. Does it feel better?"  
  
Grumbling, "Yes. Is there something we can do about these sleeves? They pull on my back."  
  
"Ranma, Quit complaining. Nothing is going to go wrong. It looks good on you." Akane felt short and testy. Her anger slowly growing, she thought, "Nabiki came along to help negotiate the price of the tuxedo rental, but now she seems to be trying to monopolize all my time with Ranma! The only thing that's keeping me from knocking her one is because she seems to know a tuxedo is supposed to fit!"  
  
Nabiki walked around Ranma, pulling down on his jacket, fixing his lapels again, and finally buttoned his jacket. She stepped back and looked at her sister. "Well, not bad. Three different suits there, but they all look like they fit nicely. The real thing should look dazzling on him, don't you think, Akane?"  
  
Simmering, Akane looked at Ranma. He did look nice, and with a real tuxedo on and his hair carefully combed, he will be very handsome. Trying to hide her residual anger, she said, "I think so. If he behaves."  
  
Ranma trudged to the mirror and started looking at himself.  
  
Ichiro, having noticed the pig-tailed boy is dressed, walked to Ranma, and looked him over. "Well, that looks good. How do the shoes fit?"  
  
"Okay, I guess."  
  
Bending at his waist, Ichiro checked Ranma's shoes, making sure they aren't too tight. Satisfied, Ichiro then tugged Ranma's trousers down to make sure they weren't riding high, and then pulled the trousers up by the waist after finding that he tugged down just a little too hard. He then double- checked Ranma's waist measurements once more before verifying the fit of the jacket by pulling at the collar. Swallowing loudly, Ichiro asked Ranma how the jacket fit. "How does this feel in the armpits? Tight?"  
  
"Very tight. It was okay before you pulled on it."  
  
"Good. I had to make sure this jacket would fit." Ichiro stepped back and after one last review, Ichiro declares, "You can change back."  
  
Akane tapped Nabiki's arm to get her attention. "No," Akane warned, "you do not go in there. If he needs help, I'll do it."  
  
"That's fine. I'll work out the price with lover boy there." Nabiki left her sister to negotiate with Ichiro. Fortunately, the rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The three of them paid the deposit and left the shop in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
At home, Ranma went through an extra hard work out to cleanse himself of the remaining creepy feelings he gained at the clothier's, while Akane and Nabiki went upstairs to pull together the accessories for Akane's dress.  
  
Akane couldn't hold her anger any longer and challenged her sister, "So, what's the big deal about hanging around Ranma like that?"  
  
"I wasn't hanging around Ranma. I was helping him get dressed," replied Nabiki as she rummaged through a box containing some costume jewelry.  
  
"Oh. So is that why you were fussing with his coat and collar so much! And of course, you had to barge in on him when he was putting on his shirt!" Akane's jealousy boiler was gaining pressure.  
  
"So what's the big deal? No harm done. Just calm down. You are acting like you actually like him." Nabiki glanced at her younger sister and teasingly asked her, "You do like him, don't you?"  
  
"I, I , I d..." Akane stutters, realizing she was jealous and covered herself, "I don't like perverts!"  
  
"Ranma is not a pervert, so I guess you do like him." Nabiki knew she had the bull by the tail.  
  
"He is so a pervert. He peeped at me!"  
  
"Oh, come off it. That was one time, and you enjoyed it."  
  
"Augh!" Akane attempted to change the conversation back where she wanted. "So tell me, do you like him?"  
  
Nabiki blinked, obviously caught off guard by the question. "He's nice. He's cute. No, not cute. He's really good looking." Nabiki's eyes glassed over for a moment and then cleared as she continued, "He's not stupid, and he's fun to study with. So I guess I do like him a little." Nabiki's expression changed a little, just for a fraction of second. "I'm not interested in him. He doesn't have any money, and he's too into martial arts for me. Besides, you have him."  
  
With a sigh, half in frustration in not finding anything, half in relief that her sister wasn't putting the moves on Ranma, Akane said, "If that's all there is, I suppose I should apologize to you."  
  
Nabiki started to leave. "Don't worry about it. Just have a good time." As she left, Nabiki resolved to keep to herself, and to not think about Ranma.  
  
***  
  
The next night, Ranma was sat restlessly while the play was unfolding, his mind wandering to and fro, but most frequently back to "when will this thing be over."  
  
Akane was absorbed by the play. She was constantly comparing her memory of the play and absorbed with the emotional depth of human drama that was unfolding. When jostled by Ranma, she turned and said, "Ranma, please. Sit still."  
  
"How much longer is thing going to go on?"  
  
Trying not to irritate her neighbors, Akane whispered, "At least another thirty minutes. Relax. You'll like the ending."  
  
About an hour later, Ranma and Akane were walking home. "That wasn't so bad, was it, Ranma?"  
  
"It was okay. I never thought that the old men could swing a sword like that. It was slow at the start, though." Ranma hated the play. The fights were only marginally interesting; they were more for drama's sake than as a resolution to a problem. The best part of the play was that Akane enjoyed herself, and that made him feel that the pain he endured was worth it.  
  
As the couple approached the front door to the Tendo house, Akane stopped, and held Ranma's hand.  
  
"Huh?" Ranma paused and turned to look at Akane.  
  
"Ranma," Akane looked at Ranma's eyes, making sure she had his attention, "Thank you for taking me. I really enjoyed the show."  
  
Ranma's attention was rapt. He looked at his fiancee, and kept looking.  
  
"Ranma? It's okay." Akane stepped up to him, wondering what she should do. She could kiss him, but that didn't feel right. She could hug him, but that didn't feel right either. Leaning forward, she whispered, "Thank you" and walked into the house. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Ranma! Get over here!"  
  
The belligerent voice was his father's. Ranma looked at Akane, upset that the quiet that they had enjoyed over the last week had just ended. But he was also also happy that his father finally returned home. Giving Akane a small smile, he left her and went into the back yard.  
  
Only to be thrown into the pond by his father the moment he set foot on the porch.  
  
"Slow! Get up you lazy bum!" Genma yelled.  
  
Ranma looked at his father and launched an aerial kick as he screamed at him, "You Ass! Why'd you have to ruin a perfectly good afternoon!"  
  
Genma saw the kick, and turned to throw Ranma even further but found himself being grappled by his son.  
  
"You fat oaf! Leave me alone!" Ranma used his father as a pole, and swung to the ground, where threw his father into the pond.  
  
Genma, now a panda, charged out of the water towards his son, keeping a low profile. The battle was rejoined when Ranma threw himself into the air.  
  
For what seemed to be hours, father and son jumped, kicked, threw, and hit each other while they traded insults to each other.  
  
When they had concluded, Ranma was sweating.  
  
Genma-panda held up a sign, "You need more discipline son! My absence does not mean you can lounge around the house!"  
  
Ranma went into the house, and headed directly for the bathroom. His father fell the ground by the pond, exhausted.  
  
***  
  
Sitting at the dinner table was a bit chaotic. Ranma had become used to sitting between Kasumi and Nabiki, with Akane sitting across from him. Now that the fathers have returned, Soun took his usual spot. Looking around the table he saw that Nabiki and Akane had traded places and that Nabiki was patting the floor the floor that was between her and his father. "Good enough for me," he thought.  
  
Ranma started to salivate as he plopped himself on the cushion next to Nabiki, knowing that he'd soon be eating when Kasumi and Akane went into the kitchen to bring out the meal. He attempted to distract himself from his rumbling stomach by wondering how his father and Tendo were able to get away from the miniature demon.  
  
"So, Pops, how did you and Tendo get away?"  
  
Genma had a puzzled look on his face for a moment, as if something didn't look right at the table. After popping the knuckles on his hands, he told his tale. "It was a miracle! I thought I had seen the end of my days when the master started chasing us. We had been running for two days, and when we weren't running, the evil one was throwing bombs at us. Finally we found ourselves running on some sand, we were so exhausted we had no idea where we were. We were about to dive in the water when we saw a bunch of umbrellas. That's when the Master ran ahead. We took advantage of the situation, and turned around. We could hear the screams of a bunch of girls behind us.  
  
"Remembering that one who runs away lives to fight another day, we ignored the noises and took the first bus home." Genma's stomach growled  
  
As Genma described more of his trip, Kasumi and Akane came into the room, and started serving food. As to be expected, Genma started to pick food off his son's plate. Ranma blocked Genma's attempts, then made a few plays for his father's plate.  
  
In a blur, his father emptied his plate in seconds. He watched Kasumi start dishing out another plate for him when Ranma noticed that his father was starting to pick food off of Nabiki's plate. Wit quick speed, Ranma intercepted his father's chopsticks and place the food back onto Nabiki's plate. When Ranma watched his father try to steal a small morsel off of Akane's plate, he threw a chopstick at Genma's hand before he could pick anything up.  
  
The thrown chopstick earned Ranma a dirty look from his father. Ranma locked eyes with his father and challenged him. Each time his father started to try to pick a little bit of food off of everyone's plate, Ranma would deftly block the attempt. After a few minutes of being constantly blocked, Genma started to reach for the platters on the table.  
  
Kasumi looked at Ranma in alarm, who did not miss the concerned expression on the lady's face. Angry that Genma had upset Kasumi, Ranma swallowed a few choice expletives that were reserved for his father and kept his insult to a minimum.  
  
"That is ENOUGH!" Ranma planted a fist in his father's face. "If you want to eat like a pig do it elsewhere." As the fist impacted his father's face, he felt a satisfying "crunch" as his father fell backwards from the blow.  
  
Satisfied that his father wasn't going to get up soon, Ranma made himself comfortable and thanked Kasumi as she passed him a new plate of food.  
  
***  
  
Genma awoke just as dinner was winding down. His face sore, he watched his son eat with a wary eye. Anger seethed inside, "Ungrateful son! He knows he should take every opportunity to train! Now he just sits there."  
  
It was when Ranma stood and started to gather the dishes when Genma wondered what happened to his son. He looked at his son as if he grew a second head and asked, "What are you doing?"  
  
Nonchalantly, as if there was nothing wrong, Ranma answered his father, "Helping Kasumi do the dishes."  
  
His fears confirmed, Genma spat just loud enough for those still at the dinner table to hear, "My god! He's turned sissy! I spend a week away, and he starts acting like a girl!"  
  
"Stuff it, Pops. I like doing dishes with Kasumi."  
  
Genma was surprised to hear the anger in Ranma's voice. "This isn't the way it's supposed to be," he thought. Fighting an urge to slap some sense into him, his thought processes rambled on, "I'm going to have to straighten him out in the morning." He watched his son and Nabiki leave the room before he turned to his partner and asked, "A game of shogi?"  
  
In the kitchen, Ranma was in turmoil. He should have remembered that his father would try some stupid stunt like his food stealing. Ranma tried not to think about what his father had planned for him the next morning, he sighed and listened to Kasumi tell her story about a wet paper bag and broken eggs.  
  
By the time the dishes were done, he was in a better mood, having forgotten the after dinner stress. Hanging up his apron, he gave a smile and a wave to Kasumi and bounded up the stairs to study with Nabiki.  
  
While playing their game, the fathers heard what was obviously Ranma climb the stairs followed by a door slam close. Then it became quiet, with only Kasumi's humming coming from the kitchen.  
  
"Where's he going?" Genma asked his shogi partner.  
  
"I don't know," Soun repled as looked at the shogi board. "You don't suppose he's leaving, do you?"  
  
Genma looked up with worry in his eyes. "He'd better not. Let's find out."  
  
As Soun stood up and wasn't watching the board, Genma deftly moved three pieces on the board with his feet before standing himself.  
  
The two men peered into the kitchen doorway where they saw the eldest daughter taking off her apron. Soun asked, "Kasumi dear, where is Ranma going?"  
  
"Upstairs, Father. To study."  
  
The fathers looked at each other, then back at Kasumi. With a voice that was normally reserved for expressing condolences, Genma asked, "Did Ranma and Akane fight any while we were gone?"  
  
Kasumi smiled an waved her hands, "No. No, not at all."  
  
Huge grins broke on their faces. "Ranma and Akane," Genma started, and Soun completed, "haven't fought!"  
  
"I think I hear bells ringing! Oh, what a happy day!" Genma said as he grabbed his gaming partner, and dashed up the stairs. "We must see this for ourselves! Hush! Quiet!"  
  
With handkerchiefs tied to their faces as a disguise, the two men halted in front of Akane's room and pressed their ears to the door. Silence. They cracked the door open and peered in. All they saw was Akane at her desk.  
  
"Huh?" Genma said in confusion.  
  
Just then a noise came from down the hallway. The two curious and disappointed fathers stealthily crawled down the hallway, listening for the noise again. When they came to Nabiki's door, they heard Nabiki giggle. Genma, looking at Soun, whispered, "A phone call?"  
  
Soun replied, "No phone. Ssshh!"  
  
A moment later the hear a "bweeee!" Then Nabiki imitating Akane, "Oh, P- Chan!" And finally the sound of Nabiki and Ranma laughing.  
  
"Ranma and Nabiki laughing? In the same room together?" Genma grabbed Soun before he started wailing, and dashed downstairs.  
  
"Kasumi, I thought you said Ranma was with Akane?" Genma thought the worst, that Ranma and Akane had broken up for good, and Nabiki was milking the situation.  
  
"Oh no, Uncle Saotome. Ranma studies with Nabiki for about an hour then he goes and studies with Akane." Kasumi couldn't understand the reaction of the fathers.  
  
Soun had tears forming in his eyes and he started to sniffle.  
  
"It's been wonderful! Last week Ranma has gotten his highest score ever. Akane too. And Nabiki thinks that cram school is getting easier since she's been studying with Ranma." Kasumi loved telling good news, and this was probably the best she had given in a long, long time.  
  
Genma grabbed Soun's collar and went back up the stairs, feeling an urgent need to investigate further. The two fathers listened at Nabiki's door, only to hear almost nothing. Occasionally Nabiki would ask a question and Ranma would answer. If he gave a wrong response, Nabiki would tell him where to find the right answer. Less frequently, Ranma would ask Nabiki a question. The Fathers heard Ranma laugh, a comment by Nabiki, a muffled explanation by Ranma, and eventually howls laughter. Looking at each other, the two elders had the same thought - Ranma should be with Akane, his fiancee.  
  
Genma brought himself to full height, puffed his chest, straightened his gi, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Ready, Tendo?"  
  
"Ready!"  
  
"Cookies!"  
  
The two men looked at each other in horror. "Cookies?" they thought simultaneously. "Oh, NO!" The two men dove down the hall to Kasumi's room to avoid being trampled by three growing teenagers. Taking position, they stood ready to defend themselves as a feeding frenzy grew before them.  
  
***  
  
After school, Ranma had changed into his chore clothes he walked down the stairs where he met his father, who was standing at the bottom stair with his arms crossed.  
  
With a disapproving tone, Genma addressed his son, "What are you doing, son?"  
  
Ranma was looking forwards to working and talking with Kasumi and his father was trying to ruin his day. Over the previous week, he decided that the hour or so that he spent with her was a nice break from schoolwork, martial arts and fiancees. Now that his overbearing parent had returned home, he feared that his daily moment of peace was at jeopardy. Bracing himself for what may be a battle, his response to the question was a challenge, "I'm gonna help Kasumi with the yard. Now get outta my way."  
  
Ranma wasn't surprised his father disagreed loudly, "Boy! Ungrateful son! You don't have time to do any of that! You must train to be a great martial artist! Working in the garden has no bearing on your future!"  
  
Ranma looked at his pontificating father, and responded with the first thought that came to his mind. "Oh, it doesn't? Then why is it that great martial artists have great training centers, and crummy ones have ugly shacks?" Ranma poked his finger at his father's forehead and continued, "If great martial artists care about their schools, and poor ones don't, what does it say about you?"  
  
"It looks like I have to teach you a lesson!" Genma started to make a grab for Ranma's arm, only to find air, pain, and then blissful darkness.  
  
In the back yard, Kasumi watched Ranma strut into the garden. A few moments ago she had heard his remark about caring for the training center while putting on her gloves and was impressed his line of thinking. Although Ranma would have been just disrespectful to his father three weeks ago, but this time he presented an argument that she couldn't find much fault with. Over the last week Ranma's comments had not been as brash, and occasionally he showed signs of having thought before speaking. "Yes, Ranma was improving," she thought.  
  
As she washed the dust and dirt off the steps, she watched Ranma pick up a heavy stone and started to dig out the hole were the stone was before she finally asked, "What on earth was that howl a few minutes ago?"  
  
Ranma rubbed the dirt off of his hands before bending over to pick up the rock again. As he wrapped his arms around the gray basalt, and had an exaggerated "what'd I do this time" look on his face before saying, "What howl?"  
  
Kasumi smiled and tossed a small pebble in his direction.  
  
***  
  
Onna-Ranma had pummeled Kuno senseless one more time, and once more, saw a photo of his girl form fly out of Kuno's shirt.  
  
He knew there was only one person that would have taken those pictures, and it was Nabiki. As he left the scene of the non-battle, he found himself angry and thought that he'd had enough. Ranma was not only aggravated that Nabiki allowed Kuno to maintain his delusions, but also that she also stoked Kuno into a frenzy by selling him pictures of his girl form.  
  
That night, on the rooftop, Ranma came up with a plan. It would take a while, a lot of research, and required plans within plans.  
  
Over the next three weeks Ranma kept an eye out for Nabiki, learning her habits, specifically looking for clues as to when she had that infernal camera with her. Such investigation was not without its hazards and failures.  
  
Akane heard a series of scrapes on the roof between her room and Nabiki's, and was curious as to the source. When she opened the window and looked to the right, she saw that Ranma was attempting to fasten some large search lights to the side of the house. Wondering what her earnest while fiancee was up to she called out to him, "What are you doing, Ranma?  
  
Ranma was struggling to hold a light in place with one hand while latching a support beam to the roof. Akane could hear the frustration in Ranma's voice as he replied, "Nothing."  
  
Such a short answer sometimes infuriated her, but this time curiosity won, so she had more patience than normal. "Then why are you hanging upside down outside Nabiki's window?"  
  
Ranma was ratcheting a bolt on to the gimble while he hung upside down from the roof. "Cuz I'm waiting for Nabiki."  
  
Akane made herself comfortable, knowing that this conversation was going to take a while. "Nabiki?" she asked.  
  
Ranma dropped a thick electrical cord to the ground while answering, "Yeah."  
  
"Why Nabiki?"  
  
Still upside down, Ranma wrapped the excess power cord around his arm. "Cuz."  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"Because I want to see something," he said as he pulled up the prong from the ground.  
  
"See what?" she asked. Akane was beginning to think Ranma really was a pervert, why else would he need so much light?  
  
Fumbling with the window to Nabiki's room, Ranma grunted, "Can't tell you, it's a secret."  
  
Irritation finally crept into Akane's voice, "A secret? So that's why you're trying to break into my sister's room?"  
  
"Yep." Ranma swung into the room with the power cable.  
  
Akane wondered what Ranma was doing. Why would he need to shine a zillion candlepower spotlight in her sister's room?  
  
Still more curious than angry, she left her room and opened the door to Nabiki's room. Since it was dark in there, she turned on the light.  
  
BZZZZZZAPT! The house went dark.  
  
An "awwwwww!" followed by a "thump!" was heard outside.  
  
Moments later, Kasumi found a charred Ranma outside, glowing in the dark.  
  
***  
  
A few days later, after enduring many puns about his shocking experience, Ranma stated to follow Nabiki in trench coat disguise.  
  
From school to a camera shop, from the camera shop to cram, from cram to a magazine rack, and finally from the magazine rack to the Nekohanten. So intent was Ranma in following Nabiki he had no idea where he was until he felt the purple haired great-granddaughter of the proprietress wrap her arms around him.  
  
"Airen! We go on date now, no?" she asked with her trademarked bubbly voice.  
  
Ranma pleaded while trying to get of the hug, "Shampoo, let me go. Can'tcha see I'm busy?"  
  
Nabiki watched Ranma struggle, and when she saw that Ranma was trapped for the duration, she walked up to Ranma. With a playful look in her eye, she winked at him and left with a "Tootle-loo!"  
  
***  
  
Ranma did eventually learn what he was trying to learn, and put the second phase of his plan into effect. He started making himself hard to photograph by avoiding Nabiki's normal hideouts or by finding ways to ruin the shots she could make.  
  
In low light conditions he would move quickly, knowing that the picture would blur. When he knew that he would be photographed, he tried to make sure some undesirable element would be in any picture she took. When it was unavoidable that a good picture would be taken, he posed in the most ridiculous form as possible.  
  
When Ranma started posing, Nabiki knew that she had turned prey and was caught. Finally facing her hunter while walking home from school on the day she conceded defeat, she commented to Ranma, "I didn't think you could figure it out."  
  
"What out?" Ranma asked Nabiki with the innocence of a babe.  
  
"When I was going to take pictures of you."  
  
Ranma developed a "gotcha" smile and let her know her failures, "It wasn't that hard. You make lots of noise when you are reaching for your camera."  
  
Nabiki smiled at Ranma. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, and he wouldn't stay angry for long. "I guess I'll have to be more quiet then," she remarked as she tried to come up with other ways to take his picture.  
  
Matching her smile, Ranma responded, "Nah, you'll need to do more than that. Once I figured out what was going on, it was easy for me to sense you."  
  
Nabiki was peeved that he was so confident. "So, mister martial arts can detect me huh? Well, I can still take pictures of you."  
  
"Nope. You are too noisy, the camera makes a distinctive sound, and sometimes I can smell it when you change film."  
  
Nabiki sighed. The little spar was not as fun as she hoped it would be. "So I should just give up, huh? Do you have any idea how much money Kuno pays for your pictures?"  
  
Ranma relaxed a little, and stated what he'd heard many times, "About the same as what he pays for Akane's. About six hundred Yen per print."  
  
Nabiki was surprised that Ranma knew the going rates for her photographs. "How..."  
  
It was time for Ranma to be surprised; he thought the price of the pictures were common knowledge. "How did I know? Aw, come on. I've heard you negotiate the price more than once. Everybody knows that Kuno buys the pictures. Heck, half his class laughs at how much he pays."  
  
"You know this is going to hurt my finances." Nabiki tried a different tactic, and gambled that Ranma was paying attention to her lectures about household finances.  
  
Ranma scoffed, "So? You normally sell him about five pictures a week. That's not a lot of money."  
  
"It's enough. On a good week, it actually covers my expenses." Nabiki pressed what she thought was her only advantage.  
  
Ranma scoffed at the statement. "What expenses? You don't buy clothes, you borrow them from Akane or Kasumi."  
  
Nabiki flipped her hair, "Hey, I have to look good. And I have my expenses."  
  
Derisively, "Yeah, magazines and food." In the back of his mind, Ranma tried to remember if Nabiki paid for anything in the house.  
  
"At least I pay for my stuff. You don't do anything but mooch."  
  
"I don't mooch."  
  
Nabiki knew the tide has turned. "Since when did you ever pay for a meal since you've been here?"  
  
"Pops got a job. He gives Mr. Tendo the money."  
  
"Your father gives Father money all right. They both spend all the money on sake and blown wedding plans."  
  
Ranma became depressed. "Oh."  
  
Seeing Ranma depressed bothered Nabiki. "Well, he does make Father happy. I guess that counts for something."  
  
Silenced prevailed for a short while as they walked. A cold wind started to blow.  
  
"I suppose I could resell the pictures to the rest of the school. I don't think I could get six hundred yen per shot, but I think I could get a hundred Yen.  
  
Ranma challenged Nabiki, "You wouldn't."  
  
Nabiki had a smirk on her face. "Try me."  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki. "You would." He looked at the street in front of him. "Lost again, didn't I?"  
  
Nabiki smiled, and nodded affirmatively.  
  
It was quiet again. The wind was beginning to feel chilly.  
  
Again, it was Nabiki that spoke. "You know, Ranma, if you would pose for a few shots, I could probably triple the money I charge Kuno."  
  
Ranma couldn't believe that she even mentioned the idea and tried to nix it. "No way," he said.  
  
"Think about it. You can contribute more to the house than your father."  
  
"That isn't hard to do. I do more now than he does as it is."  
  
Nabiki acknowledged Ranma's point with a "Ding!"  
  
Ranma continued, "I don't want to imagine what that creep would want to do with my pictures."  
  
Nabiki was thinking like a lioness hunting prey. "The pictures don't have to be of your girl form. I'm certain that Kodachi would be interested in a few pictures."  
  
Ranma shivered at the thought. "Eww! She's even worse."  
  
"So then, just how do you plan on earning your keep?"  
  
"Well, someday I would like to teach after I inherit the dojo."  
  
Nabiki playfully knocked Ranma on the side of his head. "Not then. Now."  
  
Ranma rubbed where he was hit. "I dunno. Get a job?"  
  
"You know you can't do that."  
  
Ranma looked around the corner, then rubbed his hands. "I can't teach yet."  
  
"Why not? Everybody here knows you and how good you are. You wouldn't have any problems getting students."  
  
Ranma looked forward, as if he was trying to peer into the future. Quietly, he let Nabiki know his one shortcoming he was willing to admit, "I'm not a master. I haven't been certified. And I'm not ready. Yet."  
  
Nabiki was surprised that Ranma had any humility but it didn't stop her from pressing the point, "So you are going to be a mooch."  
  
Ranma thought about several events he would rather not remember. Sadly, "Yeah. It's better than stealing."  
  
To Nabiki, the last comment sounded a little bit like a confession. "Stealing? You stole?"  
  
Ranma was surprised that this even came up, and he knew that Nabiki wouldn't let this one drop. "No. I didn't steal. Not really. But yeah." He paused a moment as memories of hunger and desperation surfaced. It may have been a moment of survival or "training" at the time, but he thought about his victims. He tried to continue, "That's..." Ranma stopped in mid- sentence again, looked at the ground, and started again "That's not right and not fair."  
  
Nabiki heard what Ranma said, and tried to let Ranma save a little face. "Your father stole."  
  
Both Ranma and Nabiki had slowed down to a crawl. The cold air began to bite, but neither of them felt it as their nerves had already given them the chills.  
  
"It wasn't like that," Ranma started. "He used me. I didn't know what was going on. At least most of the time. It was a few years ago when I finally figured out what he was doing. We came to an agreement. No more stealing."  
  
Nabiki wondered what happened. Anytime Ranma and his father agreed on anything there was a fight. "An agreement?" she asked.  
  
Ranma nodded. "We didn't talk for two weeks. He beat me up everyday. I finally got one over him, and he got stuck hauling fishing nets for a while. He made good money too. When he finally got paid, we were going to skip out at night because we had to pay some collectors the next day. That evening on the way home, he was robbed by some guy with a gun. He never did see what the guy looked like. "  
  
Nabiki wondered where this was going; this made no sense given Ranma's normal behavior.  
  
Just as Nabiki started to say something, Ranma continued.  
  
"Just before we left, I dropped an envelope of money on the ground. The collector that was chasing us picked it up."  
  
Nabiki found herself admiring Ranma. "He really doesn't want to be like his father," she thought. For some strange reason she felt a little warmer, and asked, "You stole the money, didn't you?  
  
Ranma innocently looked at Nabiki, "What are you talking about?"  
  
They both turned into the Tendo compound, eagerly looking forward to a hot tea.  
  
***  
  
Ranma was confident that his idea would work. Making sure that no one else was in the hall, he knocked on Nabiki's door.  
  
"Psst! It's me. Let me in."  
  
"What's with the secrecy?" Nabiki asked. For the last few days Ranma had been trying get the moxibustion chart from Happosai, but so far every attempt had led to failure. She was certain he had come up with an idea, and the fact he was in her room was a warning that she was soon going to be involved.  
  
"I need your help." Ranma's eyes were darting, looking for anything that could tip Happosai of his intentions.  
  
"Well, what is it?" Nabiki was cataloging different ways she could profit from helping him.  
  
"I need you to help me defeat Happosai so I can get the moxibustion chart. I go..."  
  
Nabiki interrupted Ranma, "No. No way..." Nabiki did not want to be in harms way. Pain and violence was not in her lifestyle.  
  
Ranma ignored Nabiki and continued, "... tta have you take some pictures of me."  
  
Nabiki's eyebrows arched as she said, "Take pictures of you?" She thought Ranma finally has lost grip on reality.  
  
Ranma had a confident tone that he had a plan, "What's the one thing that will drive him beyond anger?"  
  
Nabiki answered quickly since it was so obvious, "That didn't work. Stealing his 'prizes' did not get him mad enough."  
  
With thin patience Ranma gave Nabiki another try. "Nope. That ain't it. But you're close. Try again. What happened the first time I tried to do the Dragons' Heaven Blast on him?"  
  
"It didn't work, he didn't get angry." Nabiki was wondering why Ranma was repeating himself.  
  
"Oh, he was angry all right. But what really happened? What did he do before it was completed?"  
  
Realization hit Nabiki, "He stopped to peek at... "  
  
Ranma had a smile spread across his face. "Yep. His hormones overrode his anger. So if I can get him mad and then get him goin' with something with lust, I'm certain that I can get the Heaven's Blast to work on him. If that pervert sees some pictures of me, he ain't gonna control himself, and I can knock him out long enough for me to get the chart from him. Will you take the pictures?"  
  
Nabiki eye's bulged when she heard his plan. Scratching her chin, she let Ranma know her thoughts, "You realize the pictures are going to have to be very enticing? You'll actually have to wear feminine underwear? And pose in them?"  
  
Ranma's jaw hit the ground and then he loudly protested, "What! I have to wear WHAT? No way, I'm not gonna to wear any chick stuff."  
  
"How predictable can you get?" Nabiki was amused, she let out a giggle, her plan was perfect. She saw opportunities for mischief and profit, "And I know exactly what you need. I won't charge you either."  
  
"I am NOT going to wear..." he protested one more time, obviously his manliness was not to be trifled with.  
  
"Fine. The plan won't work then. It is going to have to be something special to get Happosai to go over the edge. An ordinary picture of you isn't going to do it."  
  
She walked up to Ranma, and stood beside him, being careful not to spook him. In a quiet voice, Nabiki gave her offer to Ranma. "Ranma, listen. You really do need to do something special here. I'll tell you what. I'll do the whole thing for free if you do exactly what I tell you."  
  
Ranma thought it through, and he became suspicious. Ranma had to ask her if he really heard her correctly, "For free?"  
  
"Yes, but remember, you have to do exactly what I say. And you have to trust me. Can you do that?" Nabiki watched Ranma shuffle from side to side. She waited for his answer.  
  
Ranma had a resigned look on his face when he agreed, "What do I have to do?"  
  
Nabiki was about to grin, happy that she knew she was going to make an awful lot of money when she realized that Ranma might get upset if he found out her real plan. Instead, she held her expression neutral, and quickly tallied the tasks that needed to get done.  
  
"I need a couple of day to pull some things together and to figure out how to do the pictures so that Happosai will go all out." Nabiki stopped and thought, trying determine if she could be ready in less time. "Two days is about right. I'll let you know when I'm all set."  
  
"Two days! Isn't there anyway you could be ready sooner?"  
  
Nabiki knew that Ranma was frustrated; being weak really made his life miserable. And when he was miserable, the family suffered.  
  
"Sorry, Ranma. These pictures have to be special, and I need to make sure I have the film, developing, and everything else ready so as soon as the pictures are taken you can use them the next day." It wasn't the developing and printing that was the problem, she knew she could get a one day turnaround. What she needed the extra time for was to obtain the special things that would make the photos drive the old pervert crazy.  
  
Ranma sounded disappointed, "That long? For a few pictures? Heck, it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes?"  
  
"We are going to do this right, Ranma. We have to make sure the pictures are perfect. You won't get a second chance at this. And remember, you promised to trust me and do exactly as I say or it won't work."  
  
Ranma was about to leave, but turned to face the greedy one. "Nabiki, you aren't planning on selling any of the pictures you will be taking, are you?"  
  
Her answer was slow in coming. "Well, there are certain costs that have to be covered, and my time isn't exactly free. The thought did cross my mind."  
  
Ranma's face hardened.  
  
Nabiki knew that Ranma objected to her sideline business, but the expected monetary return was such that it was very hard for her not to sell pictures of Ranma. Looking at Ranma's stern expression caused her to pause long enough for her to consider his feelings and opinions. This was not going to be an inexpensive operation, and she needed to recoup her expenses.  
  
Being in the same room as Ranma reminded Nabiki that Ranma was a person, someone with feelings. She saw that Ranma was serious, he did not want any more pictures to be sold. She did not want to upset him, and she wanted to do a good job -- for him.  
  
The last thought troubled Nabiki. She actually considered not selling the pictures because he asked. That wasn't right.  
  
In a quandary, Nabiki tried to negotiate a middle ground. "Ranma, please let me make some money. I won't sell any more than I have to." She was thinking that by keeping the agreement vague, she could claim higher expenses, therefore she would be able to sell more photographs.  
  
The haggling began. Ranma opened with two pictures could be sold, and Nabiki countered with ten. In the end, it was accepted that Nabiki could sell five pictures, and if costs were higher than expected, she could sell three more if necessary.  
  
With the negotiation completed, a tired Ranma left the room, and Nabiki started dreaming about the profit she was sure to make. She was certain that Kuno would pay for the entire effort with just three pictures, and any sales after that would be profit.  
  
So why was she worried that she was going to make Ranma angry with her?  
  
***  
  
After a day and a half of preparation, Nabiki set her gear up in the guest room while Ranma made sure that Happosai could not interfere with the plan. It was late afternoon, and Ranma had doused himself with water to change to girl form before knocking on the door.  
  
"Can I come in now?"  
  
Nabiki opened the door. "Sure. Glad to see you are already a girl."  
  
On a small table was a camera with several lenses, film canisters, tape, pens, and a light meter. Tacked on the wall was a white sheet, and on the floor were several pillows of different sizes and shapes. In one corner was a sheet tacked to the walls.  
  
Sounding curious, Ranma asked, "What is all this stuff?"  
  
"It's a set. If we used the normal stuff that's in here, he might be suspicious that it's a trap. By putting things in here that aren't normally in here, he'll never figure out that what's going on."  
  
Ranma shook his head and pointed to a rack of clothes. "No, I mean THAT stuff."  
  
Nabiki made sure she had eye contact with Ranma before answering. "Remember I said to trust me. That is what you are going to have to wear to get his attention. Now, take a look at the pillows and the wall. I'm going to take pictures of you getting dressed and undressed over there, and probably a few of you pretending to be asleep on the pillows."  
  
Ranma walked closer to the rack and started inspecting its contents. He looked as if he was about to be forcibly castrated. He asserted his maleness, "No. I can't do that. I'm a guy. Guys don't wear that stuff."  
  
Nabiki predicted his reaction, and over the last day, she'd planned how she would get him to wear the contents of the rack. Carefully choosing her words, Nabiki started to lead Ranma down the necessary path. "Ranma, there's no other way. Think about it. If you wore your normal boxers, how would he react?  
  
Ranma did not want to wear the frilly stuff on the rack. "Just fine."  
  
"Would he? You need to get him so excited that he won't be able to control himself. He's seen you in boxers all the time. What does he really want you to do?" Nabiki pulls out a hanger from which a lacy bra hangs. "He wants you to put this on! It's his biggest dream. Trust me, Ranma. This will work."  
  
"But if anybody finds out..." Ranma still hung on. Deep in his mind, he started to chant, "I'm a guy!"  
  
Slipping into her tutor mode, Nabiki responded. "Everyone will find out. The whole school knows you want to challenge Happosai. Not only that, it's the only place you can fight him and keep the damage down." Nabiki started to smirk. "You will have an audience."  
  
Thinking about the audience, Ranma challenged Nabiki. "What's my cut?" he asked.  
  
Confused, Nabiki had to ask what he meant. "Your cut?"  
  
Ranma smirked, "Well, I know I'm going to win. You know I'm going to win. And I know that you are going to try and bookie the fight."  
  
Nabiki was totally caught off guard. "He's been hanging around me too much. Time to show him he's out of his league" Nabiki thought before she made her offer, "Ten percent of my cut."  
  
Ranma figured since that he's doing all the hard work, he offered fifty percent.  
  
"Hey, if you take fifty percent, there's not exactly any profit. Fifteen, and you don't have to wear this." Nabiki shoves a bright red, see through baby doll in Ranma's face.  
  
"Uhhhh. Okay," he stammered as abject fear registered on his face.  
  
Nabiki snickered. She bought the baby doll as part of a joke to play on Ranma, and his reaction was worth every Yen she paid. As she looked at the baby doll again, she decided that she wasn't going to charge Ranma for that particular little goodie, but couldn't figure out one last time why she bought the baby doll in her size, and not Ranma's.  
  
Putting the baby doll back on the rack, Nabiki tried to calm Ranma down. "This'll be fun. We will start with some simple pictures and we'll then work our way to the pictures that will certainly set Happosai on fire." Looking at Ranma in his normal Chinese outfit, she decided that they'll start easy, and work towards the more spicy outfits and poses.  
  
"Why don't we start with what you have on now?"  
  
Relief showed on Ranma's face as he said, "Whatever."  
  
Nabiki pointed to a bare corner and started giving directions with "Stand over there, in the corner please." As he walked, Nabiki started to snap pictures.  
  
"Take your shirt off, Ranma." Nabiki snapped a few shots and watched Ranma take his shirt off. He was doing it too fast, so she had him put his shirt back on, and take the shirt off slower. Again he took his shirt off too fast.  
  
"This isn't a race, Ranma. Try it again, but do it as slow as you possibly can." Nabiki watched Ranma take his shirt off at a speed that she thought was acceptable.  
  
Realizing that Ranma wasn't prepared for what she had planned for him to do, Nabiki thought about how to make the session go easier for both of them. When Ranma started looking around the room, thought that rehearsing might help.  
  
"Ranma, we need to practice some poses before I take any more pictures." Nabiki tried to describe the poses that she wanted Ranma to perform. As she spoke, she watched Ranma nod his head as if he understood. When she stopped talking she looked deeply at Ranma's face for understanding. Noting that Ranma's eyes were glassing over she knew that he had no idea of what she asked him to do.  
  
"This confirms it," she thought, "there's no way he's a girl."  
  
After snapping her fingers to make sure that Ranma was paying attention, she sat on one of the pillows. "Ranma, watch me boy, this is what I want you to do" she instructed as she started to perform the poses that he was to perform. Ranma started to mimic her on a different pillow, and after a few runs, Ranma had mastered the art of loving the camera.  
  
After watching Ranma pose one last time, she shook her head and muttered to so quickly and perform so well was that the training done for martial arts herself, "Incredible." Her only explanation as to how Ranma could have learned how to pose so perfectly must have conditioned him to learn any physical task. She thought of the stories of Ranma on ice skates and threw that theory out. "Just fucking incredible" she thought.  
  
Starting again, Nabiki started to give Ranma instructions. "Okay, we'll pick up where we left off. Remember, take your shirt off slow." She watched Ranma go through the motions of taking his shirt off, and she thought it was more than good enough.  
  
As she worked through the first set of poses, she started to encourage Ranma, "Think about what you are going to do to the old geezer when you get your strength back!" She knew that the next few moments were going to be the decision point; if he followed through what she had envisioned, she was confident that his plan would work and that she would have more than enough money to play for her purchases, developing, printing, and time.  
  
Pulling a hanger off the rack, she asked Ranma to do something he had always refused to do. "Could you put this on?"  
  
On the hanger was a very basic and conservative white bra.  
  
Ranma looked at the bra. "No." It was simple statement. He was not going to put the bra on.  
  
Nabiki looked at the bra and then at Ranma. Walking over to Ranma, she tried to cajole him. "He'll go nuts with you in it."  
  
Ranma was not looking at the bra or her, so Nabiki put the bra in his face and barked, "This is something an old lady would wear. It's boring and comfortable. There is absolutely nothing feminine about this. If you want your stupid plan to work, put it on!"  
  
Ranma continued to look elsewhere. Just as Nabiki was about to give up, Ranma reached for the bra. His face was emotionless, his eyes unfocused. Ranma took the bra off the hanger, and started to put it on. Over his head, and with the back still fastened. He struggled to get the bra over his chest, and when he was getting frustrated, he heard Nabiki laugh.  
  
"Come here Ranma and give it to me." Nabiki was wishing she had that scene on film, it was hilarious.  
  
"Now face me, and do it like this." Nabiki unhooked the straps, reached around Ranma and fastened the hooks in front. She then twisted the bra around so the hooks were on his the back, and gave him her final instructions.  
  
"Now bend over, and put your arms in the straps." Watching Ranma put his first bra on she started to laugh again.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ranma stood up, and started tugging on the bra. It wasn't too uncomfortable, just strange and restricting.  
  
Nabiki wiped the tears from her eyes, and started adjusting Ranma's shoulder straps. "You. I would have thought that you being a girl half the time would have taught you how to dress." The vision of Ranma trying to slide the bra over his breasts and getting his hair caught in the shoulder straps was a vision she wouldn't forget soon. She suppressed a chuckle as she reached for the light meter in her pocket.  
  
Nabiki stepped back, checked the lighting, and worked him through a second set of photos. After a few short minutes, she stopped. "I have to reload the camera, so why don't you change?"  
  
Ranma had a look of surprise and relief when he said, "We're done? Great! That was easy!" Ranma's face broke out into a grin.  
  
Nabiki put a malicious grin on her face and corrected Ranma, "Bad choice of words, Ranma, and of course you'd interpret them wrong." She pointed to the rack of clothes. "Ranma, I meant you need to put one of those on."  
  
With a deflated look on his face, he walked over to rack and picked out something. The hanger had a robe with a yellow top and matching shorts.  
  
Ranma looked at the chemise again, and realized it was too small. Small enough that might fit Akane. "Hey, this is Akane's!"  
  
Nabiki continued to label the film canister as she spoke, "Of course it is. You thought I spent a lot of money on this?"  
  
"It won't fit" he mutterd. With confidence that bordered on arrogance, Ranma puffed his chest and threw his shoulders back for maximum effect, admired himself for the moment as he said, "That un-cute tomboy doesn't have what I have."  
  
Ignoring the insult to her sister, she played to his ego. "That's why it'll be perfect. Just put it on."  
  
After closing the cover to her camera, she noted that he had not responded to her. While putting the camera back on the tripod, she saw that Ranma was staring at the wall again. She decided that it would be best to let him get psychologically ready. As she walked over to the pillows, she said, "Take your time, Ranma. When you're ready, I'll be sitting here."  
  
Just as she sat down he protested, "I am ready!"  
  
Groaning as she stood up, she was glad she didn't have enough time to get comfortable. Walking to the camera, she pointed the far wall where there were several empty shelves and told him that was where the next set of photos were going to be taken. Remembering the last set, she instructed Ranma to smile a bit more than last time. Again Nabiki worked Ranma through the poses she taught him and just when she thought they had completed what she thought was the last pose, Ranma started to improvise newer poses, more athletic than the demure ones that she had taught him earlier.  
  
Not wanting to miss the opportunity, she egged Ranma on, "Oh! This is great Ranma. Keep it up!" Nabiki's camera clicked every time Ranma changed to a new pose. In just minutes Nabiki had to stop when she felt the motor in the camera start to hum.  
  
"Uh, oh. Ran out of film," she muttered, "And just as soon as you were getting the hang of it." Walking back to her bag where the film was kept, she asked Ranma to change again. "Try the blue nightie."  
  
Ranma walked over to the rack, and picked up the only blue thing on the rack. He sighed, and went off to change while Nabiki dealt with the camera and film.  
  
When Ranma returned, Nabiki looked at Ranma in disbelief. She went behind Ranma's changing curtain and found the tag that was on the nightie. Looking at the tag and then at Ranma, she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. "He fills that baby doll better than the model on the card!" she thought. Shaking her head to make sure she wasn't dreaming, she thought about tripling the price of each picture in this set.  
  
Nabiki called to Ranma as she waved her hands at the wall. "Oh, by the calendar."  
  
As the two of them worked, Nabiki felt the urge to tease Ranma a little. Just as Ranma completed his first kata of "Anything Goes School of Modeling Poses," Nabiki stepped away from the camera and leaned on the wall next to Ranma. Lightly touching his face, Nabiki cooed, "Oh, Ranma, darling, you know you are very sexy in that outfit?"  
  
Ranma was about to walk to the changing curtain when he registered Nabiki's comment. Loosing all concentration, his struggled to keep his balance as started to stammer. "I... I... I..."  
  
Having gotten her enjoyment for the moment, Nabiki winked at Ranma as she walked back to her camera, and nonchalantly said, "It's okay. I'm just teasing you."  
  
As she waited for Ranma to change, she started to check the battery level on the camera and flash units. Seeing that Ranma was staring at the remaining things on the rack, she called out, "Last few shots. See the black robe on the rack? Put everything on that hanger on."  
  
Satisfied that the batteries were going to hold out just a bit longer, Nabiki changed the film roll again and waited for Ranma. A few moments later, a voice came from behind the makeshift changing room.  
  
"Uh, Nabiki. Do I have to?"  
  
"He's showing modesty?" she thought. This took Nabiki by surprise. Given all the time that he's gone topless in public, why would he suddenly decide to cover himself up now?  
  
"Yes Ranma, you do. It may not look right, but let's try." Nabiki decided to encourage him. "You can do it."  
  
"I really don't think this will work." Ranma sounded very doubtful.  
  
"Ranma, the thing you took of is more risqué than what you have on now."  
  
Sounding a little pained, "But, it don't look right."  
  
Nabiki was at a loss at what Ranma was talking about, "Then why not let me see..."  
  
"I can't!" Ranma sounded as if something was very wrong.  
  
Nabiki played her ace. "Remember what I said earlier?"  
  
Ranma recited her admonishing, "Trust you." After a second, he came out from behind the curtain and stood before Nabiki so she could see what was wrong. "See what I mean?" he said as he indicated an obviously painful chest.  
  
Putting her hand on Ranma's shoulder, Nabiki tried to smile and not laugh again as she instructed Ranma to turn around, "I should have known."  
  
Nabiki started to re-adjust all the straps of the bra, and loosened the clasps and gently chastised him for his ignorance, "Honestly. You spend enough time in girl form. You really ought to know how to do this. Okay, hands over your head." With one final adjustment, Nabiki declared Ranma ready.  
  
A long while later, Nabiki said they were almost done. Reaching down into her bag, she pulled out a thermos, and handed it to Ranma, "We're almost done, Ranma. Go change back into your normal clothes."  
  
"Almost done? Then why are you handing me the thermos?" Ranma was suspicious of what she had in mind.  
  
"Well, uh, I think I, uh, er, um..." Nabiki wanted to hide, she wanted to take a few pictures of Ranma in his male form for herself, but didn't want him to know it.  
  
Thinking that Nabiki wanted to sell pictures of his male form to the girls in school, he relented. "Okay. Just remember my cut."  
  
When Ranma came out, he had a big grin on his face. Nabiki started snapping pictures, sometimes as he posed, sometimes when he was doing nothing but walking around the room. When the camera complained that the battery was getting low, Nabiki declared that they were finished.  
  
"All done. Now, get out of here before someone starts to wonder where you are." Nabiki stood there waiting for Ranma to leave. He was just standing there as if he was trying to make a decision.  
  
Eventually Ranma's face broke into a victorious smile. "Thanks!" he called out.  
  
Nabiki shot the last few frames of film of him smiling as he left the room.  
  
Ranma stood at the door, with visions of sending Happosai far away. "This will work. I've got him. I've GOT HIM! I've got a plan to bring out 100%... No! Make that 120% of that old mummy's AURA!"  
  
***  
  
It was a couple of days after defeated Happosai that Ranma asked Nabiki about the photo sales. "I saw one of the new pictures of me in Kuno's bag. How much?"  
  
Nabiki pulled her face from the book she was reading. She had hoped that Ranma would forget about her sales. Knowing that Kuno bought every picture she took of girl-Ranma, she asked, "Which one was it?"  
  
"One with the black robe." Ranma was carefully watching Nabiki for clues of betrayal.  
  
"Two thousand yen." Nabiki breathed easier, if Ranma had said it was blue nightie, she would had to lie, for the only blue nightie she sold went for six thousand yen.  
  
Ranma was angry that she had already sold some of the pictures and did not let him know. Anger crept into his voice, "Did Kuno buy them all?"  
  
"Yes, that idiot bought all five of them." Nabiki smirked with the thought that Kuno was a fool.  
  
"Doesn't surprise me." Ranma's opinion of the Kuno boy was even lower than that of Nabiki's.  
  
Nabiki wanted to continue reading, but she was expecting that Ranma was going to ask how much money she made on his fight with Happosai. When Ranma started to look at his own homework, she returned to her own books.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Nabiki sighed deeply. She knew wasn't studying, but instead she was staring at paper. With resignation in her voice, she called out, "Ranma."  
  
Popping his head up from his book, "What?"  
  
Nabiki pulled her wallet from her desk drawer, and started counting money. When she was done, she held out a wad of bills to Ranma. "Here."  
  
Ranma's eyes opened. Nabiki was actually giving him money, and for no reason. Just as he was about to ask why she was waving money in his face he answered his own question. This was his share of proceeds from the photo sales. He took the money, and quickly counted it.  
  
"Twenty one hundred Yen? I thought that you said they sold for two thousand apiece?"  
  
"No, I said the black one sold for two thousand Yen. The blue one went for much more."  
  
"Oh." Ranma placed the money in his pocket. "Nabiki?"  
  
"What is it, Ranma?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Seeing the smile on Ranma's face first embarrassed Nabiki, and then she found that she had a strangely giddy feeling. 


	6. Chapter 6

It was the end of the school day Nabiki and was tallying her day's efforts. Leaning against a wall, she checked off the things that were completed and made a mental note what needed to be done before she went home.  
  
She had sold a few photographs of Akane, so she knew she would need to have some replacements printed. Remembering that she saw a couple making out near the school parking lot, she added a small note to her "dirt" pages with details. After making sure that no one was following her she headed to the teacher's copy room and slipped in. There, she rummaged through the trash, looking for anything that may be of value. She knew that the teachers were careful not to leave copies of tests around, but occasionally she would find a copy of the teacher's bulletin or some official memo that could sold.  
  
Quietly she left the copy room and headed for the exit. She stopped by her locker to change into her shoes and filled her briefcase with the homework that was due the next day.  
  
"Ah, the sister of the beauteous one!" Kuno had appeared from the other side of the lockers, and as to be expected, dressed in his kendo uniform.  
  
"Go away Baby Kuno. I have a lot to do tonight."  
  
"But I need a boon from thee. My heart aches for the attention of my loves." Kuno stood there in a classic pose with his fists at his hips and his legs in a wide stance.  
  
Not missing a beat, Nabiki named her price, "Five hundred."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Five hundred Yen to listen to you. And you have to make it worth my while."  
  
"Robbery!"  
  
"Six hundred."  
  
"Why, why, why you..."  
  
"A thousand." Nabiki picked up her briefcase and gave Kuno a look that meant he'd better take the offer or she was going to leave him. "I really must be going Kuno. Do you want to talk or not?"  
  
Kuno handed the thousand Yen to Nabiki, who promptly stashed the cash away. "Well, I'm listening. What do you want?"  
  
"I wish to give my pig tailed goddess a gift. A gift such that no woman of her grace can resist!"  
  
"Yes. So?"  
  
"I must give this gift in person. I must feast my eyes upon her happiness when the token of my affection is revealed. For once she had glazed upon my endowment, she shall forever be mine!" Kuno put his hands on Nabiki's shoulders. "You must arrange that meeting!"  
  
Nabiki looked at Kuno's arms and wondered if she could still tear them from his sockets. Touching her was a dangerous proposition, she did not like physical contact, and having the demented son of the demented principal even this close to her nearly made her ill. Fighting against the wave of nausea she felt, she looked at Kuno in the eye and with a voice of steel, she spoke in a calm voice.  
  
"Let go of me."  
  
Kuno immediately let Nabiki go and stumbled backwards. When Kuno was two bokken lengths away, he stood straight and bowed to Nabiki. "I'm sorry. I guess I was carried away there."  
  
Nabiki looked at her classmate and wondered if she should arrange the meeting between Ranma and Kuno. There was money to be made, not only from Kuno, but also from the betting pool that would result when she found out what Kuno had in his mind. Although she had not forgiven Kuno for his transgression yet, she decided to press on with business.  
  
"Where and when do you want to meet her?"  
  
"Tomorrow before school, before the evil Saotome arrives."  
  
Nabiki thought about this. There wasn't enough time to set up a betting pool, so any money she made would have to be made now. She decided to see how important this was to Kuno.  
  
"I may not be able to do that. There isn't enough time for me to find her and ensure that she arrives on time."  
  
When Kuno's expression changed from confidence to panic, she knew that he had something going on, and whatever it was, it was important to him.  
  
"You MUST have her there! She must receive her gift from me then or it will go to waste! Oh, for my love for her shall last forever, but the gift, my special gift... it may expire soon after the morrow!"  
  
Nabiki now knew that Kuno was desperate and took advantage of the situation. "Twenty thousand now, just for trying to get her to be at the gates when you ask. And if she shows up, another ten thousand. And if you don't show up and she does, it's another twenty thousand."  
  
"Twenty, no, thirty thousand Yen? That's gouging!" Kuno took a step towards Nabiki.  
  
The pompous idiot was taking too long for her tastes and Nabiki wanted to leave. As she watched him go through turmoil of deciding if he should pay the money she started to quietly count upwards. If he did not make up his mind by the time she reached twenty, she would leave him standing there.  
  
It was when she reached twelve when he finally responded. "Ah! But that is so much, but, oh, the sacrifices I must make for my love! Here, thy evil merchant. Take this and deliver my message to my loved one!"  
  
Nabiki again took his cash and walked down the hall. "Remember, Baby Kuno, there's no guarantee that your pigtailed goddess will be there in the morning."  
  
She smiled as she walked through the school gates, knowing that the next day would be entertaining at least, and quite possibly profitable.  
  
***  
  
Nabiki was watching her study mate do one-arm pushups while reading his science book when she asked when she couldn't restrain her curiosity any more, "Ranma, how can you study doing that?"  
  
Without thinking, Ranma blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "I keep my eyes open and look at the book."  
  
Nabiki blinked and looked at the boy while remembering how he was trained. "Yes, I suppose he can study that way" she thought as she wished she could multi-task as well as he could.  
  
Remembering her agreement with Kuno, she told Ranma that Kuno wanted to meet with him again.  
  
"So what else is new?" Ranma answered as he continued his pushups.  
  
"Uh, he paid me a lot of money to have show up at school tomorrow morning."  
  
"So. What else is new?" Ranma switched arms and started a new set of pushups. "Hey, why aren't you trying to trick me into going?"  
  
Nabiki sat there stunned. Once he said that she began to wonder the same thing. There's no way he'd do this on his own, and now that's he's aware, the chances of her tricking him dropped between none and zero. Silently she waved goodbye to ten thousand Yen.  
  
"Never mind Ranma. Forget I asked."  
  
Ranma didn't miss the resignation in her voice. "Is it important to you?"  
  
Nabiki almost missed his question, but was able to decipher what he was asking. "Uh, it is a lot of money."  
  
Ranma didn't pause his pushups as he pressed Nabiki for an answer. "How much?"  
  
Nabiki felt a slight twang of ire and some part of her mind registered that she should be getting very angry at his inquisitiveness. But she wasn't getting angry; she found that she was feeling the embarrassment of making a confession. "Twenty thousand Yen" she found herself saying.  
  
"Wow! Kuno really does want me there. Did he give you any clues as to what he wanted?"  
  
"No." Nabiki realized she made a mistake in not learning any details of what Kuno had planed and started to berate herself for that omission.  
  
"It's not a challenge, right?" Ranma was looking directly at Nabiki's face when he asked that question.  
  
"No. He specifically asked me to try to get "his Pigged Tailed Goddess" to school before it started and before the "evil Saotome" arrived.  
  
"Feh. That makes sense."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I'm there, he'll make some long speech about defeating me and freeing me from me, and I'm supposed to fall in love with him when he stands over my body."  
  
Nabiki thought about what Ranma just said, and then remembered something. "Five hundred yen. I just remembered something."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma thought he heard Nabiki charge him for something.  
  
"I said I just remembered something."  
  
"What?" Ranma stood up to find his money pouch. In a few moments, he held out the required money in his outstretched arm.  
  
"He said that his gift may expire tomorrow."  
  
Nabiki looked at the coins, at Ranma, and back to the coins. Remembering that she priced the information at five hundred yen, she took the coins from his hand and placed them on her desk. Then she wondered why he gave her the money with no questions asked. Then she realized this was the first time she charged him for anything in a long time. Then she wondered if Kasumi would find out about the money and get angry with her. Then she wondered why she's worried in the first place.  
  
Ranma finished his pushups and was packing to leave his room to plan the next day's encounter. Obviously Kuno was going to try and make his day miserable no matter what happened, and now, thanks to Nabiki, he had warning that Kuno was up to something and it was possible that he could take extra precautions.  
  
***  
  
Just outside the front gate of the school the next morning, Ranma was soaked by a large, wet, and hairy dog appeared out of nowhere and decided to shake itself dry.  
  
Ranma looked at himself, and cussed the moment. "Damn. Now I gotta face Kuno as a girl!" Wringing the water out of his shirt, he turned into the gate and looked to see Kuno waiting for him.  
  
Nabiki, who arrived just minutes before, was smiling at her good fortune; she had planned to dump a bucket of water on Ranma, but this hairy dog knocked her over. As she fell, she threw the bucket into the air, spilling its contents on the dog. For once, she thought, she could honestly say that she did not get Ranma wet, the dog was the one that actually doused the boy. She watched her sister's fiancee trudge through the gates and watched his expression when he saw Kuno hand him a box.  
  
Seeing his Pigged Tailed Goddess, Kuno cried "My fairest maiden!" and hands Ranma a short, square box. "I give you this gift as a token of my love for thee. For in it, thou shall envisage the reflection of my worth!"  
  
When Kuno finished speaking, he anxiously waited for Ranma to open the box and see what gift was inside for her.  
  
Ranma was suspicious. Anything that was given to him by a Kuno required extreme care. To avoid loss of face, he accepted the package and placed it on his head as if it were training aid for grace and balance. "Thanks, Kuno. I know just what I'm going to do with it." If it were worth anything, Ranma would give it to Akane or perhaps to Kasumi or even to Nabiki. If it wasn't, or was booby-trapped, he'd give it to Pop and be done with it.  
  
Kuno couldn't believe that Ranma wouldn't open his gift and cried, "But you must open it! It is for you, and you only." When the wind blew Ranma's pigtail into a flutter, Kuno thought he saw the most romantic vision ever, and embraced Ranma in a tight hug and proclaimed for Ranma and the world to hear, "Oh, my love! You are so beautiful! Your very aura brings tears to my eyes!"  
  
Ranma saw Nabiki standing next to him and handed the box to her, saying, "Here. Hold this while I get this idiot off of me."  
  
With the box in her hands, she watched Ranma pry Kuno from his body. Every time Kuno tried to re-attach himself to the female Ranma, Ranma would throw Kuno into the dirt. After the fifth or sixth throw, Nabiki lost interest in the fight and started studying the box.  
  
The box was shaped a bit like a pizza box, only the cardboard was replaced with what looked like Cyprus wood. The joinery and finish showed master craftsmanship and size and shape indicated that the box was custom built for its contents.  
  
Nabiki's curiosity took over and she opened the box, wondering what is in it that caused Kuno to be so adamant about his personally giving the gift to Ranma. As she lifted the lid, she saw a gleaming silver platter with intricate engravings along the edge. Studying the platter, she was amazed at the craftsmanship that went into the engravings and clarity of the mirrored surface. It was obviously expensive, and wondered why Kuno would try to give such an extravagant gift. She held the box up so she could get a better look, and then she saw a ghost flicker from within her reflection.  
  
Peering closer at the platter she saw another ghost, only this time it stayed in her vision. As Nabiki tried to determine the shape of the blurry apparition, it became focused. Nabiki thought she would see herself, but instead she saw Ranma's face looking back.  
  
The face was missing its usual smirk or other expression of bravado. Instead she saw different things in his visage; she saw determination, innocence, kindness, and loneliness. Then the face started to lose form, as if it were smoke blowing in the wind.  
  
Turning her attention to the fight, she saw that Kuno was sitting at the center of a small impact crater, groaning in pain.  
  
"Here Ranma." Nabiki offered the box and plate to Ranma. "I think this is yours."  
  
Ranma looked inside the box and saw the plate. Pulling the plate out of box, Ranma looked at his reflection.  
  
"Nah. You can have it," he said as he returned the plate to the box. "I don't need it. 'Sides, I think it'll look good on your bookshelf."  
  
Nabiki knew that Ranma could be generous. Part of her wanted to get rid of the plate, seeing Ranma's reflection instead of her own frightened her a little. On the other hand, it was obviously worth a lot of money. In the end, just before they parted for the day, she decided that Ranma was right, it would look good in her room.  
  
Before class started, Nabiki took another peek at the plate to find a smiling Ranma looking back at her.  
  
At the end of the day she discovered her cheeks hurt from the smile that never left her face. 


	7. Chapter 7

Ranma was in Nabiki's room studying when Ranma made a comment about the government could print more money to pay off debts. Nabiki had a strong reaction to this, and proceeded to lecture Ranma on the impact of money supply on an economy.  
  
"Do you get it?"  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki and blinked. He had never seen such intensity in her eyes before, her passion for money was frightening, but even scarier was her grasp of economics.  
  
"Yes." Ranma had no choice but to answer affirmatively, else he would hear the lecture all over again.  
  
"Good." Nabiki knew that Ranma probably didn't understand half of what she said, but if he even understood a quarter, he'll be easier to manipulate later.  
  
***  
  
Ranma had just walked into Nabiki's room to study when he saw that Nabiki wasn't studying, nor was she ready to study. In front of her was a ledger and calculator. Her face was full of concern.  
  
"Nabiki, what's wrong?"  
  
"Money. Expenses. Too much of one and not enough of the other." Nabiki pushed herself away from the desk, and the sat on the floor next to Ranma.  
  
"Money that tight again? Me and Pops haven't done anything bad recently, have we?"  
  
Nabiki started to stretch. "No, Ranma. Sometimes the past catches up to us, so things are going to be very tight for the next few weeks."  
  
"What do you mean the past catches up to us? We don't owe anybody anything do we?" Ranma asked as he tried to peer into her ledger. Ranma lived in an essentially a "cash and carry" world and long range financial planning was unknown to him.  
  
"We have taxes, insurance, and licenses due this month. Even if you weren't here, it would be tight anyway."  
  
Ranma studied the serious look on Nabiki's face, he thought he could see some lines form at the corner of her eyes. When he saw the bite marks on her pencil, he knew that she was serious and was probably on the verge of depression. Trying not to upset her, he kneeled on the floor next to her, being careful not to touch her and then asked, "You have enough money?"  
  
Nabiki put the pencil down, placed her hands on the desk and straightened her back. "We'll be fine," she said. Her voice relayed a considerable level of stress as she continued, "We'll have to take some money from our savings to cover this month. But, we'll also have to save a lot of money later so we can replace the money we took out."  
  
Ranma began to wonder why she worried so much when he heard Kasumi's voice come through the doorway.  
  
"Hello? May I come in?"  
  
Kasumi stepped in, and after nodding to Ranma, she sat on the bed. Kasumi's voice was calm, but the words betrayed her inner feelings, "I couldn't help hearing what you were talking about. Are we going to be short again, Nabiki?"  
  
"'Fraid so, sis. Not by much," Nabiki tried to reduce the impact to her older sister, but failed when she said, "But still." Nabiki hated telling Kasumi bad news.  
  
"I guess I'll tell father. He'll be disappointed."  
  
That night, before falling asleep, Ranma was mulled over the finances of the Tendo household for his first time. It was late at night when he came to the conclusion that he and his father probably overstayed their welcome. Although they were treated as family members even if he hadn't married Akane yet, things could probably be better if he and his father somehow contributed to the money supply. He couldn't get up and leave, at least not if he wanted to retain what little honor and trust he may have earned while staying at the Tendo's.  
  
"Hey, Pops! What'ya do with the money from Doc Tofu?" It was the next morning and Ranma challenged his father. He had a good idea where the money was going, but he had to make sure.  
  
"What, boy, have you gotten into this time? It's none of your business." Genma was upset that his son was challenging him again.  
  
"The way I see it, we should be paying the Tendo's for the food we eat."  
  
"Bullshit! We are guests, and they treat us like guests." Genma was past irritated and was rapidly becoming upset.  
  
"Oh, so that's why we got kicked out so many times. I suppose we didn't over stay our welcome, did we? You said a good guest never overstays his welcome and becomes a burden. Well, what do you gotta say about that?" Ranma was mad to start with, and to hear his father be so inconsiderate towards the Tendos made him boil with anger.  
  
"We are NOT a burden," Genma growled as he reached for his son and tried to throw him. Ranma was too quick and stepped out of the way and into the back garden.  
  
Thus the battle was joined. Ranma counter-attacked his father while goading him about freeloading, being rude, and being a leech. Genma denied each accusation, and furiously attacked Ranma and questioned his manhood at every opportunity. Eventually Ranma knocked his father down and jumped up onto the roof, looking for an opportunity to put his panda-fied father down. Genma taunted his son a he stood up, looking for his son. Ranma planned his strike with the sun at his back, hopefully his father's eyes couldn't adjust to the bright light before he actually made contact.  
  
Kasumi and Soun saw and heard the whole fight from the porch. Soun began to re-evaluate Ranma when he saw his friend hit the ground with a loud thud; not only was he improving as a fighter, but he was showing a moral fortitude and sense of honor that he had not expected from Genma's son. Patting his shirt for his pipe, he muttered, "He'd make a good son if he'd stop insulting so many people."  
  
Kasumi prayed that the fight wouldn't cause any damage, they didn't need any more expenses. When she saw Genma throw a series of vicious punches and kicks at Ranma, she hoped that Ranma would escape unharmed. At the end she found herself holding her breath and happy that Ranma had won.  
  
Nabiki woke to the sound of loud shouts and collisions from the savage battle outside, and watched from the upstairs balcony. Admiring Ranma's choice of insults, she basked in the happiness that he actually learned something while listening to her lectures, and when it was all over, she watched him stomp off to get cleaned up. "What are we going to do with you?" she thought as she left the balcony.  
  
***  
  
Later that morning, Ranma sat in the guestroom staring at the ceiling simply because he thought it was a good idea when he heard Akane knock on the door.  
  
"Ranma, what are you doing?" Akane sounded bored to Ranma.  
  
Ranma continued to stare at the ceiling and replied in a monotone "Nothing."  
  
As he looked at the corners where the walls met the ceiling, Ranma heard Akane step into the room. He had memorized every crack and paint patch and was watching a single mite of dust float through the air. In the back of his mind he knew that Akane was about to make a suggestion that he probably wouldn't like. Thinking quickly, Ranma came up with an idea that may save the rest of the day for him.  
  
As the speck of dust finally wafted out of site, he stretched and asked Akane, "Wanna go to the waterfront? It's gotta be more interesting than here."  
  
"You just asked me out?" Akane sounded elated, which was good, but that also meant that the fathers might start celebrating a marriage that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  
  
With the image of a minister in his eyes and the fathers behind him, Ranma became uncomfortable. "N-n-n-n-no. No. Nothing like that. I thought that it would be kind of interesting..." he said, trying to hide his nervousness.  
  
Akane's smile never left her face as she reached down to help Ranma off the mats. "Sure. Let's go," she said.  
  
The couple found themselves in front of two excited fathers a few minutes later. Genma was slapping Ranma on the back, making comments about taking his time and Soun looked to be getting ready to cry tears of happiness. Just before Ranma and Akane closed the door behind them, they saw their fathers pulling out a bottle of sake and heard them making some comments about a blissful future.  
  
Just before the closed the door, they heard one last voice.  
  
"Akane, Ranma?" Kasumi's called from the kitchen. "Remember to be back in time for dinner."  
  
Akane responded, "Yes, sister, we'll be back for dinner."  
  
It was an idyllic time at the waterfront for the two; they watched the fishermen hawk their fish, peered into different boats, and snacked.  
  
"Nihao!"  
  
Ranma and Akane froze. The high pitched voice was Shampoo's and they didn't want to hear it.  
  
"Husband! I no stay. Must get fish for dinner. You come, no?" Shampoo was on her bicycle, leaning on Ranma's arm.  
  
"Uh, no, Shampoo." Ranma tried to extract his arm from her clutches. "I promised Kasumi I'll be home tonight."  
  
"So violent girl," Shampoo looked at Akane, "not cook tonight. That is good. Sick or dead husband is very bad." Shampoo nuzzled Ranma while watching Akane's reaction.  
  
"Why..." Akane was starting to see red. "You..."  
  
Akane wasn't able to complete her comment, Shampoo had let go of Ranma and started to peddle away.  
  
Ranma's voice worked its way through Akane's anger, "She's gone. Akane, stop."  
  
"That brazen bimbo! Why do you keep her around!"  
  
"I don't keep her around. She just doesn't leave. There's a difference."  
  
Ranma grabbed Akane's hand and gently held it, watching her anger melt away. They resumed their walk by the waterfront, and stopped for a lunch.  
  
"Akane, can you help me with something?"  
  
"He's asking me to help him?" Akane thought. "What is it, Ranma?"  
  
"I wanna buy some stuff for Kasumi and Nabiki. I don' have a lot of money, but I don't know what to get them."  
  
"Why?" she asked. Ranma has never really bought her anything, so she was feeling a little more than jealous.  
  
"Because they've been helping to keep things quiet. How often has somebody come by recently and caused problems? When was the last time you or I got into a fight?  
  
"Kasumi has stopped our fathers from marrying us off more times than I can count. Nabiki still tutors me even when she's mad at me.  
  
"But mostly it's 'cause it's quiet."  
  
"So there's nothing there," Akane thought.  
  
"Ok," she agreed. "I know just what to get them. On the way back we can stop in that store you didn't want to go in." Akane smiled; Ranma had made a scene about not going into the stationary store at the beginning of the waterfront.  
  
The sun was beginning to descend when Ranma and Akane were finished their shopping when Ranma spotted a small wooden duck on a shelf near the cash register. He picked it up and looked at the price, and heard, "No, Ranma."  
  
"What are you talking about, Akane." Ranma was confused.  
  
"You don't need to buy me anything. You need to just get the gifts for my sisters." Akane was happy, knowing that Ranma did think of her and that he was going to buy her something without any prompting warmed her heart.  
  
"But I want to." Ranma sounded even more confused now.  
  
"Thank you, Ranma, for the thoughts, but if you give that to me, it'll cheapen the gifts to Kasumi and Nabiki." Akane did want the duck, but she really wanted him to do the right thing.  
  
Ranma put the duck back, and held Akane's hand. "You sure?"  
  
Akane nodded her head just once. 


	8. Chapter 8

Nabiki was going over the family finances in her room after dinner. The money situation was still tight, but the expenditure rate was much better than the previous few months. The costs for repairing damages to the house for the last month or so has been essentially zero and Ranma has been amazingly resourceful around the house, not only avoiding causing any damage, but the repairs he performed saved a substantial sum of money. She started thinking about Ranma, and looked at the strange new pen she found on her desk when she walked in.  
  
The pen was obviously a tourist souvenir, but it worked as well and perhaps better than many of the other pens in her desk. As she studied the pen more, she realized that, in spite of its cheap, touristy looking exterior, as a writing instrument, it was very well made.  
  
Thinking about Ranma's and Akane's day, Nabiki sighed, "They must have had a good time today." As she toyed with the pen again before putting it away, she realized that she was jealous that Akane was able to spend a whole day with him.  
  
"Not again," Nabiki murmured as she put her head in her hands. "What is going on here?"  
  
***  
  
In the kitchen, Kasumi was cleaning the counters when she discovered that the clipboard and pen wasn't in the kitchen drawer where she kept it. She turned around, and found the noticed that there was a new clipboard that held the grocery list was stuck on the refrigerator door with a magnet, and it had a pen and pad of paper was attached to it. She looked at it, and saw a motif of a man holding a string of fish. At first she thought the ensemble was from Akane, but then she realized that the clipboard was haphazardly placed on the door, and instantly deduced Ranma was the source for the gift. She was happy that Ranma thought of her, although she would have to remind him that gifts should be given in person, and not to be discovered. Smiling as she went back to work, looked forward to seeing him in the morning.  
  
***  
  
It was after breakfast and Ranma was in the kitchen looking for the lunch bentos when Nabiki and Akane walked in. While Akane inventoried the lunches, Nabiki walked up to Ranma and started tussling with his hair and braid.  
  
"I don't know how you do it, Ranma. How do you keep your hair in that pig- tail?" Nabiki was facing Ranma, but her hands were behind his head, pulling his pig-tail out from his jacket. As she straightened his hair, she watched Ranma start to get uncomfortable with her being so close.  
  
Stepping back, she looked at him and said, "Ranma, you should wear a top- knot instead of that pig-tail."  
  
Ranma started to scratch the back of his head where Nabiki adjusted his pig- tail before saying, "Naw, I don't think so, Nabiki. If I did, Pops probably would make be cut it because of some stupid promise about some being a manly man martial artist when I was five years old!"  
  
***  
  
That night, when dinner was finished, but before everyone left the table, Soun and Genma attracted everyone's attention.  
  
Genma started the meeting. "We are both very happy to see everyone getting along so well." He smiled, and slapped his son on his back.  
  
Soun continued where his partner left off, "And since everyone is so happy today, we thought it might be a good idea to discuss when the wedding should take place. Now Genma thinks it should be sooner than later, and I think it should be sometime during the summer. What do all of you think?"  
  
The first voice heard was Nabiki's, and she was loud, almost shouting. "Are you out of your mind! Look at them! Do they look like they are ready to get married?" Nabiki indicated the seating order at the table. Ranma was sitting between Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane was sitting at the corner, next to her father and Nabiki.  
  
"Father, Uncle Saotome. Do you think it is wise for them to marry so soon? They still have their schooling to complete, and neither of them are ready to run a household." Kasumi kept her voice level, but there was no mistaking the severity of her tone.  
  
Nabiki had visions of Ranma throwing up Akane's cooking and other visions of Ranma lying on the ground after being hit by Akane. Deciding that the family would be healthier if Ranma and Akane were not married soon, she interrupted her sister, "If you marry them off now, you might as well start the divorce proceedings."  
  
Kasumi looked at her younger sister, trying to see why she was so discombobulated before continuing her own comments, "Times are different now father. If they were married now, it will not be accepted." Left unsaid was the fact that Ranma and Akane never looked as if they had a harmonious relationship by society.  
  
When Ranma and Akane started their normal denials of getting married and just before the insults of "uncute tomboy" and "pervert" could start, they found that the elder sisters were in a coordinated attack drowned their own voices.  
  
Ranma looked at the elder sisters, and then at Akane. Shrugging his shoulders, he listened to the verbal volleys launched by Nabiki and Kasumi, and watched his father and Mr. Tendo shrink back. "What got them so worked up?" Ranma wondered about the sisters.  
  
Akane saw Ranma shrug his shoulders and tried to keep her own anger in check. As she listened to her sisters deconstruct or belittle her father and Uncle Saotome, she tried to remember when either of her sisters were this passionate about anything. The more she listened to Kasumi and Nabiki, the less angry she became, and before long, she was thinking, "What's the big deal? Ranma and I aren't getting married anyway."  
  
Finally the fathers stopped trying to push the marriage and Genma turned into a panda and started playing with a tire while Soun started crying. The older sisters stopped talking and looked at Ranma, who gave them a blank look. Nabiki and Kasumi stood up, and left the table with their heels striking sharply against the floor. Akane sat there, looking at the fathers and wondered why her sisters were so adamant about the marriage.  
  
Ranma sat at the table, looking at the fathers, disgusted that they started to deny what just transpired. He stood up, and started to clear the table.  
  
Akane sighed in resignation, and assisted Ranma with the plates.  
  
In the kitchen, Ranma and Akane silently washed the dishes, both wondering were Kasumi was hiding. This was very unusual, and they both were worried. When the last dish was done and the kitchen cleaned, Akane looked up the stairs in thought.  
  
Since Kasumi had not returned to the kitchen, Akane decided that she would try and learn why her oldest sister was being so emotional. After letting Ranma know of her intentions, she quietly entered the hall and started to climb the stairs.  
  
For his part, Ranma was worried about Kasumi too. Kasumi was normally a very happy person, and if there were something that she had to say, she would normally speak in a reserved manner, as if she was holding something back. At the dinner table, however, Kasumi spoke with full force. She wasn't loud, she wasn't fast or slow, but the very timbre of her voice carried a tone of severity he hadn't heard before.  
  
It wasn't just Kasumi's reaction that caused Ranma to react, but Nabiki's as well. In the past, Nabiki would make a snide comment or two and then let the matter drop, as if she's playing a greater game. This time she was as ferocious as he'd ever seen her, she showed a side that was dark and cold, a vicious wit, and that she was ready show no mercy if the circumstances required it.  
  
Knowing it was time to study, he retrieved his book bag from his room and knocked on Nabiki's door.  
  
Nabiki's response sounded stressed, "I'm not in the mood, Ranma."  
  
Ranma stood there for a moment, caught between the need to study and her request. Remembering his Father's reaction when he once mentioned that he wasn't in the mood to train, Ranma was not going to Nabiki's problem stop him from studying. He knocked again.  
  
"Ranma, not tonight." Nabiki's voice came through the door, it sounded to Ranma that she might have been crying.  
  
Ranma knocked one more time and called again, "Nabiki?"  
  
The door quickly opened, and Ranma watched Nabiki return to her bed, throwing her head into the pillow.  
  
Ranma sat on the floor in his normal spot, and looked at Nabiki. She turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling.  
  
This wasn't normal behavior for Nabiki, she should have been at her desk and studying. It was obvious to Ranma that she was upset, so he tried to concern for her feelings, "You okay?"  
  
Nabiki's voice was brittle, and occasionally cracked, "Do I look okay? No, damn it! I am not okay!" She turned over again, and planted her face in the pillow once again.  
  
Ranma crawled next to the bed, and watched and listened to Nabiki. He heard soft sobs, and watched her shake a little.  
  
With trepidation Ranma sat on the bed and gently placed his hand on her back, and started to rub it. Finding that his arm was still attached to its socket, his motions became bolder as he started to massage her back, gently working the knots he found. After a few minutes Nabiki took her face out of the pillow and started to relax.  
  
"Mmmm." Nabiki started to purr.  
  
As Ranma worked the base of her neck and her shoulders, he felt Nabiki finally sink into the bed. After a few more minutes of working her back, he stopped when her breathing became easy flowing and regular.  
  
Not moving from the bed he inquired as to how she felt, "Feel better?"  
  
"Uh, huh." Nabiki was like a rag doll on the bed. "That felt," she whispered, "so...."  
  
Nabiki drifted into silence, and Ranma watched her eyes flutter close. Sitting still, he let her relax. After a few minutes, he started to get up when he felt a soft touch on his arm.  
  
"Stay here for a little while. Please?" Nabiki's voice was very weak, in the same relaxed state she was in.  
  
Ranma sat down on the floor, grabbed a book, and leaned against the bed. He felt a few of Nabiki's fingers touch his shoulder and played with his collar for a few seconds before coming to a stop next to his ear. He started reading, and in a short while, he heard Nabiki start snoring. He quietly packed up his things and left the room.  
  
Ranma walked to Akane's room and knocked, hoping to study some with her. Not getting an answer, he started back to his own room when he saw Akane step out of Kasumi's room.  
  
"Akane, what happened?" Ranma quietly asked his fiancee.  
  
Akane whispered back, "She's upset because Daddy's upset. What's up with Nabiki?"  
  
"I think she's tired. She just fell asleep." Ranma then absorbed what Akane had said, "That's all? That's nothing new, your pop gets upset all the time."  
  
Akane was almost hissing, "That's not only why she's upset."  
  
Ranma opened his mouth to say something more, but Akane stopped him.  
  
"I think you'd better go talk to her." Akane turned and left Ranma alone in the hallway.  
  
"Now what?" he thought. Ranma was confused by Akane's reaction to him, he wasn't expecting her to be angry with him, he didn't think he didn't do anything wrong.  
  
Standing in front of Kasumi's door, he turned and looked down the hall at the other doors. Deciding that he'll deal with Akane's coarse reaction after talking to Kasumi, he knocked on the door.  
  
"Just a moment." Kasumi's voice sounded muffled. A few seconds later, the door opened.  
  
"Ranma."  
  
Ranma looked at Kasumi and saw that things really were wrong. Instead of bright eyes and happy smile, Kasumi's eyes were a little puffy and she looked as if she was tired beyond belief. With both concern and fear in his voice, Ranma apprehensively spoke, "Uh, Akane asked me to talk to you."  
  
Kasumi wanted to close the door and forget Akane's visit. Her mind was torn between a need for life to be stable, to flow smoothly and calmly as stream does though a rice field. Life, like a peaceful brook, could turn into a raging river capable of flooding many acres of land, destroying houses and livelihoods if conditions are right. Once the waters have receded, the soil is often rejuvenated, and the survivors are stronger due to the change.  
  
"Change," Kasumi finally thought, "yes, things are going to change." She let Ranma in by standing aside and lowering her head.  
  
As she closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, Kasumi quickly thought through what she had to say. The conversation with Akane did not go well, it opened up some old wounds in the family.  
  
"Ranma, please sit," Kasumi commanded as she motioned to Ranma that she wanted him to sit next to her on the bed. After Ranma had put his book bag down and was sitting on the bed, Kasumi sat down next to him. Looking at him was hard for her. She knew what she should say, but that was such a distasteful lie that death would almost be preferable to the lie's utterance. What she wanted to say frightened her, some members of the family would be very angry and the family could be stressed to the point it may take many years for the wounds to heal - if ever.  
  
She had to choose between being the brook or the flooding river and she had no time to think to make a proper choice or to find a suitable middle ground. She reeled back slightly when one choice was washed away by a strange new current.  
  
Kasumi wondered how long she sat on the bed in silence next to Ranma when she heard him ask what was wrong with Akane.  
  
Kasumi took in a deep breath and held it in. She exhaled, and started, haltingly at first, "We had a disagreement. Akane wanted me to say what I couldn't, and didn't believe me when I said I didn't know." Kasumi shifted her weight away from Ranma before continuing. "I wanted to say something, but I didn't know myself what to say.  
  
"I tried to tell her I was surprised as she was when I asked Father and your father to not press the marriage. She was adamant that she it was her concern and that it would be best if I not interfere."  
  
Kasumi looked at Ranma, she could feel tears starting to well in her eye from the stress. Forging ahead and barely mindful of the consequences, she spoke what should have been a truth that the family was obviously blinded to, "Ranma, it doesn't matter who you marry."  
  
Ranma's response was immediate, "Yeah, it does. Pop and your dad will kill me if I don't marry Akane."  
  
Inwardly, Kasumi smiled. She knew that Ranma often missed subtle hints, it was a trait that made Ranma the individual he was, and it charmed her as much as it tried her patience. She inhaled, gathered her strength, and continued, "That's not what I mean.  
  
"I meant that you don't have to marry Akane as long as you marry a Tendo. The agreement is between the families, not between you and Akane."  
  
Kasumi wasn't surprised when Ranma said, "I'm engaged to Akane" as a statement of fact, not a defense. She looked at the floor, her hands sitting softly on her lap. She felt it was time to let the waters rise some more and said, "Father and Uncle Saotome don't care who you marry. More than once I heard them creating contingency plans when you two were fighting."  
  
Kasumi watched Ranma start rubbing his hands, trying to think. When he spoke, his voice carried a slight undercurrent of confusion.  
  
"But you and Nabiki argued for her to be my fiancee, remember?" he said. "You were constantly trying to get me to make up with her, to be nice to her."  
  
Just above a whisper, Kasumi finally opened the floodgates. "Things change."  
  
Ranma sat there and waited for more.  
  
Kasumi let the silence reign for a few moments and found herself relaxing. She reached out and touched Ranma's hand for a second. When she found that he didn't back away, relief washed over her and said, "Just wait, Ranma. Things will settle down some day and all will be well."  
  
The two of them sat on the bed, not speaking for several minutes. The quiet time with Ranma gave Kasumi hope for the future. She gave a small smile at Ramna, hoping to abate his desire for more information. When he smiled back, she knew she could sleep that night, and shooed him out of the room with, "I think I'll go to bed now."  
  
Ranma reluctantly stood. "Uh, yeah. 'Nite, Kasumi. I hope you'll be okay."  
  
Kasumi finally felt something similar to her normal self and was able to honestly say, "I'm much better, Ranma. Thank you."  
  
***  
  
A very tired and sore Ranma pulled himself out of the furo the next morning. He had not slept, for his concerns about Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane's anger bothered him. With his fatigue and lack of concentration, his father mercilessly beat him in practice. He decided that he would pretend that the events of the previous night never occurred; perhaps he could chalk up the night as a bad dream. If something were different, he would have to deal with it when the time comes.  
  
At breakfast, everyone sat in the usual places, and the morning conversations started to flow. As Kasumi started to serve everyone, Ranma felt Akane started eyeing him, obviously looking for signs of what transpired between Ranma and Kasumi during the previous night.  
  
When Nabiki held the bowl for Ranma to take, he saw that she was blushing before she turned away. He felt his hackles stand on end when he saw Akane's ire rise.  
  
When breakfast was over, Ranma was waiting for Akane to step out the door when Nabiki called him to the gate. Ambling over to her, he noticed that she had a slight smile on her face.  
  
"I wanted to thank you for last night. I'm sorry I fell asleep like that on you. I know you wanted to study."  
  
"Nothing of it. I got some reading done any way." Ranma stopped talking when he saw Akane step out the door.  
  
The three students walked briskly in the dank air. Ranma did not walk on the fence, as it was too slippery given his distracted state of mind. On the ground, he found himself between the two sisters. Akane was quieter than usual, and looked as if she was thinking about something.  
  
Nabiki looked at Ranma, and moved in closer to him, making him wonder what was on her mind.  
  
Not at all comfortable with the latest developments, which surely would degrade to violence, he tried to diffuse the situation by talking to his fiancee. "Hey, Akane, what's going on? You haven't said a word since we left the house."  
  
"Nothing" was Akane's cold response.  
  
Ranma looked at his fiancee, and asked the one question that would certainly cause him the biggest trouble, "Is it about last night?"  
  
Akane turned and glared at Ranma. "You IDIOT! Yes, what do you THINK has me upset! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!" She clenched her bags, and started running towards the school.  
  
"Well, that was unexpected. What happened last night, Ranma?" Nabiki stuck her hands into her jacket pockets to warm them.  
  
"I dunno, and I don't think I ought to talk about it." Ranma watched Akane turn the corner in the distance ahead.  
  
Ranma stood still, afraid that he may set off a land mine.  
  
Nabiki stepped closer to Ranma. With an urgent tone, she asked again "Ranma, what happened?"  
  
Ranma was slow answering. "Kasumi and I had a talk." Ranma looked up at Nabiki, shuffled his feet, put his hands in his pockets and finally said, "She, uh, was really vague." Ranma faltered.  
  
"She told you what?"  
  
"Something was changing," Ranma started to stutter in nervousness. "And something about me not marrying Akane."  
  
Nabiki almost dropped her bag in shock. How her sister knew what was running through her mind was beyond comprehension. She was sure that she kept her thoughts under control and was not giving off any signs of what she felt. She wasn't even sure of how she felt herself. There have been a few inopportune times it has been hard for her to keep Ranma out of her mind. Before dinner the previous day when she tried to plan for potential monetary gains, she eliminated a few possibilities simply because she didn't want to upset Ranma. It wasn't that she discarded a few likely lucrative scenarios that bothered her, but what surprised her was that she knew why she had that little "problem being nice to Ranma for no reason."  
  
She actually cared for the studly guy standing next to her, and she wanted to him to be her friend.  
  
As she stood there in front of him, she brushed her hair behind her ear for a moment as she looked at Ranma's chest. She took a measured breath and tried to relax. If she had a chance, she knew she would have to have Ranma thinking of her as a friend, and maybe, just maybe, something better will come of it in the future. For now, she decided, patience was a virtue, so it would be best to bide her time.  
  
"Nabiki? I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want any more fiancees. I just want to get through life and be the best martial artist there ever was."  
  
Emotions splattered all over the place like paint from a full can being dropped from a high ladder. "He's turning me down?" she thought. "We never started... He..." Nabiki started to cry.  
  
Ranma saw Nabiki's face tense and saw the tears coming down. With a wary motion, as if he was afraid for his life, he put his arms around her and gently pulled her in.  
  
When Nabiki felt Ranma's chest, she wrapped arms around Ranma and hugged him back, trying hard not to let her voice crack when she tried to prevent Ranma from loosing his confidence as she said, "It's okay Ranma, I want you as a friend."  
  
"You do?"  
  
She pulled back a little, putting a smile on her face, and looked at him. Ranma had a irresistible puppy-dog look on his face that threatened to destroy any sense of moderation she retained at the moment. "I don't know what Kasumi said last night, and you know I'll find out. But, yes, I want, and need, you as a friend. Can you be one?"  
  
All Ranma could do was nod "yes".  
  
Letting go of Ranma, Nabiki stood straight and regained her composure. It was time to return to the real world for a while, and she didn't want to face the principal for being late. "We'd better get going, we'll be late for school as it is. That is, unless you can to do something spectacular."  
  
Ranma smiled, "I've got something new for you to try! So jump on, and hang on tight!"  
  
Soon as Nabiki was on his back she found that she was hanging on for life. She found the buildings and streets becoming a blur as Ranma ran faster than she expected. When he passed cars and jumped over streets, she entered a state of disbelief, what he was doing wasn't possible. Finally Ranma came to a stop at the gate and let her down. She looked him over and marveled, he had no signs of sweat, and wasn't even out of breath.  
  
After she straightened her skirt and jacket, Nabiki started walking towards her classroom when she heard Akane's voice from behind her.  
  
"She's behind me? Ranma carried me past her?" 


	9. Chapter 9

Nabiki came home from school and headed straight for her room. Noisily, she rummaged through her closet, looking for something. She tossed each skirt, dress, and blouse on the floor in a single pile, not happy with what she saw.  
  
"Nabiki, what are you doing? You are making a mess!" Akane peered through the door at Nabiki.  
  
Standing back from her closet, Nabiki stared at the heap of clothes on the floor before declaring, "I don't have anything to wear."  
  
Akane had a look of disbelief on her face, and she challenged her sister, "You have a closet full of clothes. There must be something! What do you need?"  
  
"There is going to be a test of manners and social skills. I can't go in there looking like I'm wearing hand-me downs; I have to look good, it's part of my grade." Nabiki mentally went over her list of what she had thrown the floor and eyed the closet. She was beginning to think that a shopping trip was needed.  
  
Akane forcefully entered the room and started rummaging through closet pulling out a blue dress. Looking it over, she thought it was perfect for what Nabiki described. "Here's a nice dress, it looks like you could wear it to a party."  
  
With an "I'm older than you" voice, Nabiki responded, "Of course it's nice, but I can't wear that to this. It makes me look like I'm trying too hard to look feminine"  
  
"But I like the bows and lace. It's... " Akane looked closer at dress, then corners of Akane's lips turned downward slightly as she claimed ownership of the dress, "Wait a minute. This is my dress. What is it doing in here, Nabiki?"  
  
Nabiki didn't really care what Akane thought, and shrugged he shoulders as she offered her explanation. "I borrowed it in case I needed it. Take it back, I'm not going to wear it."  
  
Nabiki watched her sister empty the closet, throwing its contents into three messy piles. Akane's droning of "this is mine" and "this is Kasumi's" went on until the hanger rod was empty and the shelves were bare. Akane's final comment of, "Nabiki, have you ever thought about asking to borrow these?" irritated her.  
  
"What is she, some sort of cop?" Nabiki wondered as Akane quickly separated the original pile on the floor. Detaching her anger from the truth, Nabiki kept her cool, and her voice reflected it when she said, "Not really. And when you haven't mentioned the missing dresses in three months, I forgot that they were yours to start with."  
  
When Akane was finished, the two girls looked at three piles. One pile was Kasumi's clothes, one pile was Akane's, and the third, and the smallest, was Nabiki's.  
  
Gathering her own pile, Akane looked around for what she may have missed, and started for the door. "There! Now you have an empty closet. Now you can go shopping," Akane spat, "for your own clothes!"  
  
Nabiki had come to the same conclusion, although it was reached before her sister ever entered the room. Unfortunately, she didn't want to go shopping, she just wanted to buy what she needed quickly, for she considered spending hours looking and looking and looking to be a waste of time. If she thought she could afford it, she'd even pay someone to do the work for her. Nabiki conceded the truth and at the same time, refused to to let Akane leave with the last word, "That's what I've been thinking all along. But I need somebody to help."  
  
Sensing an opportunity to go shopping, Akane volunteered, "I'll go!"  
  
"Sorry sis. You know what happens when you go shopping with me. I end up with nothing, you end up with a bunch of cutesy stuff. And I can't take Kasumi, she'll have me looking like her. I need to know what will look good to the judges. I need an outfit that will look classy, not too sexy, and yet attractive to those old men."  
  
Akane knew she was referring to the district board members. They always judged such events, believing that the local teachers would be biased towards favorite students. She was disappointed that her sister didn't want her go shopping with her, but offered an obvious solution, "Then why not one of your class mates?"  
  
Nabiki mulled the suggestion for a moment before deciding. "Nope. They'll try to subvert my grade, either by giving me bad advice or by finding something better. I can 't risk that. And I really need a male opinion. Daddy won't help, he'll probably end up crying something about her "baby is growing up." There's no way I'll take Mr. Saotome."  
  
Akane developed an evil gleam in her eye and baited her sister, "How about Kuno?"  
  
Nabiki began to get ill, for the thought of spending time with that idiot was more than she could deal with. "Don't go there. Do not even joke about that. You know what I think of him."  
  
"Then there's one choice left," Akane said with a sweet smile, knowing that her sister was down to only one option.  
  
Nabiki groaned, "Not Ranma. Please don't say 'Ranma.'" Nabiki really didn't want to think about having Ranma help her shop for clothes. He was a male, but one with an unknown taste, but Nabiki guessed that his taste would be bad.  
  
Grinning like the proverbial bad guy confident that the good guy is certain to meet his doom, Akane announces, "It's Mr. Saotome's son!"  
  
"I said don't say 'Ranma!'" Nabiki cringed slightly, realizing she fell into two traps.  
  
Akane giggled. "I didn't. If you think about it, he's perfect. He's a guy, he's a girl, and he's a pervert. He should know what to wear."  
  
Wanting to get him out of the picture, Nabiki protested, "He has no sense of modesty. He'll fail me for certain!"  
  
"So, what he doesn't like, you know it's good. What he likes, you know to avoid it. He's perfect."  
  
In a perverse sense, Nabiki realized that Akane was right. Ranma's weakness could be used if she could keep her wits about her, so she agreed. "Well. I guess he'll have to do."  
  
***  
  
A little while later, Nabiki found Ranma goofing off in the back yard.  
  
Nabiki called out from the porch, "Ranma, I need to go shopping. Will you come along?"  
  
"Huh? Wha?"  
  
Nabiki calmly addressed Ranma once she knew she had his attention. "Ranma, I said I need to go shopping, and I asked you to come with me."  
  
Ranma did not want to go shopping. Most of the times Akane mentioned shopping, he had managed to find a way out of it. Since this was Nabiki, yet another girl, he stalled for time so he could find an excuse not to go. "Shopping for what?"  
  
"There's a test coming up, I need to look my best for it, so I need some clothes. Let's go." Nabiki had to get keep Ranma moving, knowing that if he stopped, he'd find a way to escape her clutches.  
  
"Why do I have to go? I don't want to spend all day in some stupid store looking at stuff I'm not going to wear."  
  
Not arguing with Ranma's logic, which Nabiki couldn't refute, she played her trump card, "Because if you don't, you will be in the house all alone with Akane, and you know what the fathers will do if they found out the two of you were alone for so long."  
  
"When are we leaving?"  
  
At the "Young Boutique", Nabiki picked a few dresses and retreated to the changing room to try them on while Ranma sat in one of the chairs that the management was kind enough to reserve for any unfortunate male that was drug into the store.  
  
Nabiki came out of the dressing room wearing a blue dress that started just barely below her crotch and ended about where her nipples should be. After pirouetting in front of Ranma, she winked at him.  
  
"Na-Na-Nabiki!" Ranma stuttered.  
  
"You like it?" Nabiki asked innocently. Nabiki knew that the dress was something that she will never wear, but she just had to see the effect of it on Ranma. She slowly spun around again, this time giving Ranma time to look at everything. She had him entranced.  
  
"You, you aren't going to wear that are you?" While he had lost his stutter, Ranma, sweat began to form on his brow.  
  
"I take it that's a 'no'." Nabiki effected a fake frown; it was all too obvious that Ranma liked it. As she turned around to return to the dressing room, she saw a pin imbedded in the rug. Deciding to play the game a little longer, she straightened her legs, and bent at the waist, letting the dress hike up behind her. With the pin in hand and still bent over, she looked behind her and saw Ranma's mouth drop. Giving him a quick little wink, she stood up and sauntered back into the dressing room.  
  
In the dressing room she giggled to herself as she stepped out of the blue mini and pulled the next dress off the hanger. She really should have thought of bringing Ranma in the first place; it was fun to watch him try to deal with feminine enjoyment. She didn't like shopping, but teasing Ranma, that was different issue altogether.  
  
This time Nabiki was wearing a red full length evening gown that was a little long. It dragged a little on the floor, it needed to be brought up a little and Nabiki felt that she should be wearing high heels for full effect.  
  
As she stepped out, she heard Ranma immediately compliment her with "Wow! That looks great!"  
  
"Thank you, Ranma. It is nice, but I think it is too much party dress, so I can't wear it. Besides, I think it makes my butt look big." Nabiki studied how the lines followed her body in a near by mirror and wasn't happy with what she saw.  
  
"What do you mean your butt is too big? The dress looks great on you."  
  
Nabiki knew Ranma had a penchant to tell the truth, the compliment was unexpected and very welcome. "Thank you, Ranma," she said, "but I still think it's the wrong dress." With that, she went into the dressing room one more time.  
  
The third dress was green and had a very conservative cut. This was the only one of the three that she hoped to buy, and she hoped that it would work. After getting the attendant to zip the back, Nabiki stood in front of Ranma and the mirror once again.  
  
"Well, what do you think of this?"  
  
Ranma answered after hesitating, "Uh, it looks great."  
  
"Nope. It looks terrible. You can't lie Ranma, you are too easy to read." Smiling, "Don't feel bad, I hate this dress too."  
  
After changing back into her own clothes, Nabiki started walking through the store again, this time looking for true contenders. When she found her first possibility, she noticed Ranma was looking very bored sitting alone in a chair next to the dressing room entrance. Seeing the fire hose above Ranma's head, Nabiki had an idea.  
  
"Ranma," she called over, "I think I can make this go by quicker. Go change to a girl, then you can try on dresses with me!"  
  
"Are you nuts? No way!"  
  
"Think about it, Ranma. If we both try on dresses, we can try on twice as many dresses and I can pick one twice as fast!" Nabiki knew this certainly wasn't true, as Ranma's girl form was more buxom and shorter than Nabiki. She was gambling that Ranma didn't know the nuances of woman's clothing, and would believe her. On top of it all, it was another opportunity to have some more fun.  
  
Ranma for his part, stood there as if the weight of the world was just dumped on his shoulders. It was obvious that he didn't want to do this, and Nabiki could see that he was weighing his options. Nabiki knew she had him when he stood up and started walking to the bathrooms.  
  
Mindful of the three garment limit, Nabiki quickly picked six outfits to try, three for herself, and three for Ranma. Two of the three outfits for Ranma were for fun, they were obviously not acceptable for her assignment, being either too racy or too informal. The third had a chance that could work, and if it looked good on Ranma, she'd try one in her size on. Just as Ranma returned, Nabiki quickly chose a second and third dress to try.  
  
She handed Ranma his three dresses fairly certain that they were the right size, as she had occasionally loaned Ranma clothes in the past during emergencies.  
  
"Come on," she implored, waving her hand to indicate that Ranma should enter the dressing rooms with her. She fought valiantly to hide the wicked smile that struggled to appear on her face, but the anticipation of seeing Ranma wearing feminine clothes was too much, and she was grinning as she stepped into her own changing closet.  
  
A few moments later, the sound of Ranma came through the changing room door, "Nabiki? Is this right?"  
  
"Just a second, Ranma. I have to pull, uh! This zipper up." Nabiki had just put on a pant-suit, and it wasn't fitting just right and was an obvious reject. Not wanting to make Ranma wait any longer, she opened the door to see Ranma wearing the sky blue vinyl mini and fishnet top.  
  
"Wow! That looks great on you, Ranma!" Nabiki couldn't believe that he actually put the ensemble on. "Amazing! This does look good on you. It's not for me, though. There's no way I'll ever be caught with that stuff on! Do you like it?"  
  
Ranma let loose a low, guttural sound that sounded like it injured his throat, but made everyone within earshot realize that there was a male present. "No."  
  
Laughing, Nabiki directed Ranma to try on a different outfit, and returned to her own room to change herself.  
  
After changing once again, Nabiki was admiring the latest two piece she put on, a pleated skirt and blouse that looked like a winner when Ranma came out. This time he was wearing a simple black slip-dress. It didn't fit him well as the dress did not flow against his waist smoothly.  
  
Critically eyeing Ranma, she asked for his opinion, "What do you think? Will it look good on me or not?" Nabiki had already decided what she had on was what she was going to buy, but thought the dress Ranma had on might be worth thinking about for the future.  
  
"Uh. I guess," Ranma squeaked as he tugged at the collar, trying to adjust for the tightness cause by his bust line. Then Ranma started to scratch under arm and said, "It doesn't fit and it itches."  
  
"Bummer." If Ranma had not mentioned the itch, Nabiki was going to find one her size and try it on. Nabiki remembered the last time Ranma complained about a seam that caused an itch; he was wearing a new shirt of hers at the time. When she wore it for the first time a week later, the very spot that Ranma complained about drove her crazy with the itching. The shirt was quickly turned into a rag.  
  
"How about what I'm wearing? Does it look good enough?"  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki as she spun around for him. "Boring. You need something else."  
  
"I think it looks great. What's so bad about it?"  
  
"I dunno, I think it looks too plain. I guess."  
  
"What if I add something, like a pin or something? I can accessorize, you know." Nabiki was not going to be deterred; she really liked the skirt and blouse.  
  
"Aggressor-size?" Ranma showed his cluelessness again.  
  
"Accessorize. You know, put a pin here, wear a necklace, the correct purse and belt. An outfit just isn't the clothes." Nabiki went on to explain the concept of being "dressed" was different between females and males.  
  
An eternity later, Ranma and Nabiki stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed home. Nabiki grabbed Ranma's arm, and tugged him closer to her.  
  
"That was fun! Thanks!" Nabiki was grinning from ear to ear. Not only had she purchased everything she needed, but she also was able to manipulate Ranma into wearing girl's clothes. It was a very successful afternoon for her.  
  
"You're welcome?" Ranma wasn't sure how anyone could call shopping a good time; he wasn't even sure how he survived. For him, it was an exercise in patience, and when he changed to a girl and tried on the dresses, it turned into exercise in self-control. Somehow, though, seeing Nabiki happy when she found her dress made him feel good. He wasn't sure why, perhaps it was knowing that the misery would soon end, but perhaps it was also knowing that Nabiki was happy.  
  
The two of them walked home, and with Nabiki in a good mood, she was a non- stop chatterbox. Approaching the Tendo compound, Nabiki again pulled Ranma to her and held his arm.  
  
"Really, Ranma. I did have a good time. Let's do it again." Nabiki smiled at her companion.  
  
Hearing that she wanted to go shopping with him again made Ranma want to run away. He also realized that Nabiki was happy, which was a good thing. She might make him dress like a girl again, and that was a bad thing. Looking at clothes all day long was boring, and that was a bad thing. It was fun to point out the ugly clothes and laugh, and that was a good thing. It was nice to find something she liked, and that was a good thing. In the final analysis, if under duress, Ranma would have admitted he had a good time.  
  
Nabiki watched Ranma's change expressions as he contemplated going shopping again and she laughed at the perceived thoughts that must be going through his mind.  
  
"Only if I don't have to try on clothes." Ranma growled. Actually it wasn't really a growl, he tried to growl and failed, so it came out almost sounding like a purr.  
  
And with that, Nabiki pulled him closer, and slid her arm around Ranma's waist and they turned the corner into the compound.  
  
***  
  
Akane and Ranma wandered through the empty house. They expected to find Kasumi in the kitchen, but they found a note from her instead. The note stated that she had left to visit a friend that had just went through a difficult birthing, and that she should be home in time to cook dinner. With Kasumi gone, Ranma took the opportunity to take the day off from his chores and both Ranma and Akane went to the training hall to practice.  
  
After practice, the family was about the house, waiting for Kasumi to come home when the phone rings.  
  
"Hello? Tendo Residence." Ranma took the call.  
  
"Oh, Hi, Kasumi... I can't hear you. That's better. You what? No problem. I'll be sure to tell your father. That's okay, I understand. No, she isn't. No way, I want to live. I'll do it. No, really, I can. Everyone's okay, they're starting to wonder where you are. Do you know what time you'll be home? About ten? I'll let everyone know. Relax, and don't worry. I'll see you when you get home. Bye."  
  
Ranma explained to Soun that Kasumi was on the train back home when the train was stopped by the police to try and catch a pervert that was trying to take pictures of girls underwear. The investigation was causing havoc with the train schedules, and in order to minimize problems with other arrivals and departures, the train she was on was going to be delayed for several hours. As such, Kasumi was not going to be home for dinner.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Akane doesn't know about it. We can order take out or something." Ranma suggested. Just thinking about Akane's cooking made him ill.  
  
"Good idea. We can call the Cat Café." Soun suggested.  
  
Visions of Shampoo arriving with the food and trying to take him back to the café ran through Ranma's head. He shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea."  
  
Soun looked at Ranma, thought of another idea and asked, "How about Ucchans?"  
  
"Nope. Same problem." Ranma was hoping for something new and different. Just then he had an idea.  
  
"I'll cook dinner!"  
  
"You can cook?" Soun eyed the boy with suspicion.  
  
"Sure. I've been working with Kasumi for a while now, and I had to learn a little about cooking when I was living with Pops on the trail." Ranma lied, he hadn't learned a thing about cooking from his father, the only thing the old man knew how to do was boil some cabbage and fish.  
  
"Just keep Akane out of the kitchen, okay?" Ranma walked into the kitchen.  
  
Ranma went through the kitchen, pulling vegetables, started to boil water, and fired up the rice cooker. Remembering where Kasumi kept the various spices and sauce bases, Ranma started to pull together the dinner. In an hour, the kitchen was a mess, but he had a dinner ready.  
  
In one very large bowl, he had a dish consisting of noodles, fish, and various types of vegetables. He called everyone to the table for dinner, and when they were all seated, he announced the meal.  
  
"It's a champon, something that Pops neglected to teach me." A quick glance to Akane to see if she was angry with him told him he was safe for the moment, so he continued. "I've already tried it, and I'm not dead yet, so I guess its okay."  
  
Akane and Nabiki served everyone, and they started to taste Ranma's concoction.  
  
"Not bad." Soun carefully tasted his noodles.  
  
"Ymmmm." Akane had already taken her tastes, and started to eat in earnest.  
  
"Slurrrrrrrp!" Ranma's father was about to ask for a second bowl.  
  
"It's good. I didn't know you knew how to cook," Nabiki commented.  
  
"If it weren't for me, Pops and I would have starved!" Another boast by Ranma, which was not entirely untrue; often Ranma was the only reason why they ate. People felt sorrier for a hungry little boy than they do for a fat old man. Ranma omitted the fact that he only knew how to cook one dish, and that he was incredibly lucky he didn't make an inedible slop.  
  
A while later, after the contents of the dinner had been consumed, they all rested for a moment before getting up.  
  
"I hereby nominate Ranma as Cook if Kasumi is ever gone again." Nabiki was looking at Ranma. Although the dinner wasn't up to Kasumi's standards, the meal was satisfactory. "No offense, Akane, but he really can cook."  
  
"Hmmph." Akane pouted. Her family had once again failed to support her cooking endeavors. She was going to have to redouble her time in the Home Ec laboratory.  
  
***  
  
Later, Nabiki and Ranma were doing the dishes after dinner, making idle talk.  
  
"I can't believe that you didn't play cards before. I would have thought that you and you father would have played to pass the time away." Nabiki said as she was starting to put the dishes away while Ranma dried the remaining pots.  
  
"I didn't say I never played before, I said that I didn't play often. Pops thought that cards were a distraction from training. He thought that everything was a distraction, unless he could find a way to turn it into a training session."  
  
Nabiki pulled out the step stool and set it up in front of a high shelf. Standing on the top stair, she asked Ranma to hand her the rice cooker.  
  
"Here." Ranma handed her the large ceramic pot with one hand. "Come to think of it, the only time Pops and I played cards is when he wanted to play poker."  
  
Nabiki reached for the cooker and started to pull it off of from Ranma's outstretched hand. Just as Ranma released his grip, she felt full weight of cooker pull down on her arms and started to fall forward.  
  
"Aaaaa!" Nabiki tried to shift her weight backward to compensate for the pot. With one leg on the step stool, and the other acting as a fulcrum, Nabiki tried to regain her balance.  
  
The step stool started to groan and creak under the rapidly shifting center of gravity. Nabiki had just about balanced herself when the stool gave way from under her.  
  
As the stool crumpled under Nabiki, Ranma bolted from the far side of the kitchen, making a diving catch for the barbecue with his left hand while breaking Nabiki's fall with the other arm. Not loosing any momentum, Ranma put the rice cooker on the floor and tried to pull Nabiki over him to break her fall.  
  
Nabiki had not registered that she had been caught and put her arms forwards to break her fall. When all motion had stopped, Ranma was with his back on the floor with arms around Nabiki. Nabiki's nose came to a stop just centimeters away from Ranma's.  
  
Realizing that she was not in risk of hurting herself, Nabiki relaxed, gently falling the way onto Ranma's chest.  
  
Both Nabiki and Ranma lay on the floor for a few moments, letting their adrenaline levels drop.  
  
"Ahem!" Soun's voice came from the doorway.  
  
"What is going on here?" Soun demanded of the two occupants of the kitchen.  
  
"Ranma saved me from hurting myself when the stool broke." Nabiki rolled off Ranma and started to stand.  
  
Soun looked at the broken stool, one plastic leg had a crease where it had been folded. Smiling, he walked over to Ranma and helped him up. "The protector of my daughters! You will be a wonderful addition to the family!" With that, Soun gave Ranma a hearty slap on the arm, and left the room. 


	10. Chapter 10

Ranma was sitting in Nabiki's room, getting ready to go to Akane's to complete his studying for the night when Nabiki spoke up.  
  
"Ranma, did you know that Kasumi isn't the only one that can cook." Nabiki turned in her chair and had a predatory grin on her face.  
  
"Sure. Pops can cook a mean cabbage if he wants to."  
  
"I mean there is someone in this house other than Kasumi that can really cook something other than charcoal, poison, and cabbage."  
  
"Who? Your dad?"  
  
Nabiki started to laugh, slowly at first, but soon was holding her face in her hands, wiping tears off of her cheeks. After a minute or so she took a deep breath, collected herself, and said, "Akane can't cook, it's in her genes. And guess who's genes she inherited?"  
  
"He's that bad?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"I suppose you mean me? I can't cook. I got lucky the other night."  
  
Nabiki started to giggle again as she teased her study partner, "So the truth comes out." Nabiki had suspected that Ranma couldn't cook; he might be able to pull off a few dishes with some luck, but to cook good tasting meals with any sort of consistency requires practice, and she knew that he has never worked over a hot stove for any length of time.  
  
"No, Ranma. I mean I can cook."  
  
"Sure. You spend just enough time in the kitchen to find the crackers, chips and cakes."  
  
"Really, Ranma. I can, and I'm good."  
  
"So why do you always order take out?"  
  
"I hate cooking."  
  
"Now that I believe."  
  
"But I can cook."  
  
"Yeah. Right."  
  
"I can prove it."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Okay. If you compliment my cooking, you have to take me out to dinner. If you don't like what I cook, I have to take you out to dinner."  
  
"You sound confident."  
  
"I am."  
  
"Bring it on."  
  
***  
  
"Who's he?" Ranma asked as he pointed to a tall skinny student talking to Nabiki. It looked like he was trying to talk to her, and she was having a hard time getting him to leave her alone.  
  
Hiroshi looked at where Ranma was pointing. "I don't know. New student maybe?"  
  
Daisuke eyed the stranger before responding to his partner's inquiry, "Nope. If it were, we'd know about that. Maybe he's a visitor."  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki and the person in question again. There was something about the person that wasn't right, and somehow he knew that the stranger was bothering Nabiki, and that made him angry. He walked over, and stood behind Nabiki, assessing the other person. He saw a pockmarked face on top of a skinny body, heard a voice that was wheezing and cracking.  
  
Nabiki was tapping her foot and had her arms crossed, a sure sign that she was annoyed. Ranma stood behind Nabiki and cleared his throat.  
  
Nabiki jumped a little, not expecting anyone to be standing behind her, nor have that person be so close. When she recognized Ranma she smiled and leaned backwards, forcing Ranma to catch her.  
  
"Ranma-kun," Nabiki cooed, "you can't stay away from me for long, can you?" She pulled Ranma's arms around her and nuzzled her hair against his neck.  
  
Ranma tried to figure out what Nabiki was doing, it wasn't like her to initiate physical contact; he couldn't remember any time when Nabiki tried to have any contact with him. When she pulled his arms around her small, soft waist, a vision of Akane seeing them like this was formed in his head. But when Nabiki rested against him and rested her head just under his ear, the vision dissipated.  
  
Dimly aware of his surroundings, Ranma heard the pimple-faced boy stammer, "Yaha, Nabiki. I'll be seeing you soon again sometime gotta go now take care bye!"  
  
As the boy left the scene, Ranma felt Nabiki gently let go of his arms he gently tried to step away, but when she started to stumble backwards, he immediately threw his arms around her again.  
  
"Whoa! You okay, Nabiki? You almost fell."  
  
Nabiki sighed then said, "I'm fine, Ranma. I just wasn't ready for you to let go of me yet." And then she blushed a little.  
  
Ranma leaned forward a little and allowed Nabiki to regain her balance before letting go of her.  
  
When the boy was finally out of sight, Ranma apologized, "Sorry about that. He gave me the creeps."  
  
"Thanks, Ranma. He didn't get a clue as to when to leave."  
  
The two students stood there, not knowing what to do next when the bell rang. "Gotta go!" Ranma said as he turned around, "See you later."  
  
"Later." Nabiki said. She watched the boy start to retreat before calling out, "Ranma!"  
  
"What?" Ranma stopped and turned to face Nabiki, who had a coy smile on her face.  
  
"Next time, don't be in such a hurry to let go of me."  
  
Nabiki gave a wink at her rescuer as she started to walk away.  
  
***  
  
It all started with a simple challenge, "Pops, you said you could eat everything they put in front of you. It's time for you to prove it!" Genma, being the man he is, did not refuse. He even went on a special training mission to ensure his victory.  
  
As such, Ranma and his father were standing in the registration line for the "Eat-Until-You-Die Contest." Genma was brimming with confidence that first prize, a complete set of restaurant quality cookware, to be his. He was so confident that he challenged his son to enter the contest just to prove his own superiority.  
  
Unfortunately for Genma, Ranma had no pretense of even trying to win. He entered so he could watch his father first hand get sick. In fact, Ranma had no intention of eating all that much in any case as he was planning on encouraging his father on to eat more food. As a spectator, he thought that he couldn't get close enough to actually rattle his father's cage enough to take the extra bite. As a contestant, he planned on sitting next to his father, cheering and insulting him until either he won or became sick, and hopefully both.  
  
Once registered, Ranma and his father found a pair of adjacent seats near the kitchen. As the rules were explained, the Saotomes found that contestants that drop out must wait upon the survivors, bringing full plates of food and removing the empty plates. Ranma immediately started working out how to keep the panda-man's plate full and ensure that the judges gave full credit to his father's consumption - assuming they could believe how fast his father could eat.  
  
When the whistle blew to start the contest, Ranma and his father cleared their plates in seconds, and had two refills before the third contestant want up for his first refill. Ranma and his father kept their pace up until each had eaten seven plates of food. It was at this point that Ranma decided he was full and didn't want to get sick, so he started bringing plates to his father. By this time, the third place contestant had finished his second plate of food and almost everyone had conceded the win to the fat bald man with glasses.  
  
Genma had completed ten plates when the judges stopped Ranma from getting any more food. "Let the others try to catch up," they said. Ranma looked at the kitchen and saw that there wasn't much food left, and that his father was actually eating faster than chefs could heat the pre-cooked food.  
  
In the end, Ranma never did bring another plate to his father, who had finished with ten plates. Ranma was in second place with seven plates, and third place was six dishes.  
  
After the prizes were awarded, Ranma interrupted the interview between his father and a contest official by publicly announcing that the person that should accept the first prize should be Kasumi Tendo.  
  
Genma was about to protest, but seeing the serious look on Ranma's face and Kasumi's delight, he relented, making a weak but pompous speech about being a good father.  
  
Second prize was two large grocery bags packed with food. Ranma managed to be humble as they brought forth the bags, and thanked the sponsors. Unfortunately for Ranma, his father was still hungry and as soon as Ranma put the bags of food down on the table to talk to Kasumi, his father started quaffing Ranma's prize. When Ranma and Kasumi returned their attention to the two bags of groceries, they discovered that his father had eaten the contents of one bag and was doubled up in pain with a stomachache. Ranma smiled, at least he had the satisfaction of seeing his father pay the price for his indulgence.  
  
With his father clutching his stomach in pain, Ranma watched Kasumi receive a collapsible cart for carrying groceries and a letter stating that she was now the owner of a shopping spree at the grocery store of her choice.  
  
When Soun arrived, Ranma bid him and Kasumi farewell for the afternoon and left to find Akane and Nabiki. Akane was supposed to be entering some contest and Nabiki was to be wondering about the midway.  
  
He found Nabiki first, and watched her as she tried to toss a 100 Yen piece into a shallow glass bowl a few meters away. Nabiki's throw was fairly accurate, but her coin bounced off the rim, never going into the bowl. A second toss was dead on, the coin should have dropped into the center of the bowl but somehow bounced out.  
  
Frustrated, Nabiki handed Ranma a coin and asked him to see if he could win something. Ranma tossed his coin, and it too bounced out of the bowl. Ranma became suspicious and asked Nabiki for one more coin. She handed a coin to Ranma, who shut his eyes and launched the coin at high speed at the bowl.  
  
This time the coin never bounced out of the bowl. When Ranma looked to see what had happened, he saw that the coin was suspended in mid-air at the same level as the bowl's rim. It was then that Nabiki realized that there was a thin membrane covering the bowl, hence making it impossible for anyone aiming for that bowl to win.  
  
With an understanding of how this operator ran his games, she called him out and called him a cheat. The discussion ended when Nabiki threatened to have Ranma find other irregularities. With the word "irregularities", Ranma started making some comments about liars. The operator, a coward, relented, and awarded Nabiki any prize she wanted for her silence. She saw a red glass letter opener and indicated that what she wished to take home.  
  
After thanking Ranma for his assistance, Nabiki mentioned the speed-cooking contest that Akane entered a few hours ago.  
  
"Cooking contest?"  
  
"It appears that my little sister is intent on exacerbating the population reduction problem."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind. Just come along with me." Nabiki picked up her box and tugged on Ranma's shirt. When she felt Ranma start to follow her, she let go, and grabbed his hand, not wanting to lose him in the crowd of the midway.  
  
Once there, they stood in front of the score board and discovered that Akane has done well. Apparently she had answered all of the quiz questions posed to her correctly, which easily qualified her for the next round.  
  
"Wow! How'd she do that when she can't cook?" Ranma asked in surprise at the perfect score Akane posted.  
  
"We are talking about my baby sister, remember? Just because she can answer a bunch of questions doesn't mean she can cook."  
  
Still holding hands, Nabiki and Ranma walked into the kitchen stadium and found a couple of seats.  
  
It was in the kitchen that the contest was to really begin. At each stage there were prizes given out, with the winner being awarded a two week long cooking class. Akane knew had no chance of winning first place, but she hoped she would get enough points to win something.  
  
The first step was easy, all Akane had to do was boil water. That was it. She did not have to cook anything. She picked up her pot, and walked over to the sink to fill it full of water. On the way back, she tripped, spilling water everywhere. She went back to sink, and refilled the pot, and this time returned safely to her stove. Placing the pot the stove, she reached for the lid and spilled the pot. Getting frustrated, she grabbed the pot, put the lid on the top, and walked back to the sink. She turned the faucet on, and splashed water all over herself, for she forgot to take the lid off the pot. She took the lid off the pot, filled it full of water, put the lid back on the pot, and walked back to her stove. She placed the full pot on the stove and sat there, waiting for the water to boil. And she waited. Then she waited some more. She walked up to the pot, and tested the water. It was cold. She looked at the stove, and saw that she forgot to turn the stove on. She took the pot off the stove and put it on a neighboring table, turned the stove on. She put the pot down, and took the lid off the pot to check to see if the water was still there. When she saw smoke coming from the stove, she realized the lid was on the stove and not on the pot, which was on table. Quickly she lifted the lid off the stove and put it on the pot, which she then placed on the stove. After making sure that everything was correct, Akane sat down on the ground, waiting for the first signs of boiling water.  
  
It was four minutes later when the water boiled, but in the process of trying to boil the water, Akane had gone from a tie for first place to last. Since Akane was able to finally boil the water, the judges awarded her a set of salt and pepper shakers and escorted her out of the kitchen, fearing that if she went into the next round that they would have the makings of a major fire.  
  
Through the whole ordeal, Ranma and Nabiki winced, prayed, and cried. They tried to cheer Akane on, but her failures were so bad that they had to console themselves with the fact that she had not yet destroyed the stadium.  
  
As Akane left the competition floor, Ranma and Nabiki left their seats and headed for the fair's exit to meet up with everyone, their day over. 


	11. Chapter 11

"Mmm. These cookies are delicious, Nabiki." Ranma is savoring a batch of warm cookies with Nabiki while studying. Looking at his partner, he realizes he is getting an evil eye. "Now what," a puzzled Ranma muses, "did I forget this time? I said the cookies were good. What more could she want? She went down to get... Oh!"  
  
Ranma tilted his head and said, "Nabiki, I'm sorry. I forgot. Thank you for bringing up the snack." He looked up at Nabiki, who had a winsome smile on her face. Reaching for another cookie, Ranma made his obligatory comment about cooking in the Tendo household, "Too bad Akane can't cook. Maybe Kasumi inherited all the cooking genes!"  
  
The sound of a small laugh came from the desk perked Ranma's attention. "What's so funny?" he asked.  
  
"Thank you, Ranma. You didn't know it, but you just complimented me! Now you owe me a dinner."  
  
"Huh? No I didn't. I said that Kasumi is an excellent cook."  
  
Nabiki went into spasms, trying to hold the laughter in. "Who baked these cookies?" she managed to ask between breaths of air.  
  
"Kasumi. Who else in this house can cook?" Ranma was totally lost, not understanding why Nabiki was laughing. He obviously had forgotten about his bet with Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki couldn't hold her little secret any more, her laughter stopped and pride swelled in her breast, for Ranma paid her the biggest compliment she could ever receive. Fighting an urge to embrace Ranma, she sat tight and explained her victory, "Silly. I baked those cookies! I just warmed them up just before I came up here. Good aren't they?"  
  
The idea of taking Nabiki out to dinner was a scary one for Ranma. He knew it would be expensive and that she'll want to go to a place that make him feel like a clod. He wasn't going to back down, so he sucked in his own pride for a moment, praying this would never happen again, and answered truthfully. "Yes, Nabiki, these cookies are very good."  
  
"Saturday night, then?"  
  
Nodding affirmative, Ranma had only one hope. "Do I get a choice where we eat?"  
  
"Nope. Dress nice, and be ready to show me a good time." Nabiki wasn't all that sure what could happen, but one thing she was certain of, that since Ranma is involved, the night would prove interesting.  
  
***  
  
Ranma hasn't seen Nabiki since school let out earlier that Saturday. He wasn't in a very good mood; Akane teased him all day about losing the bet, and dealing with his father's protests that he should be dating Akane and not Nabiki made the day just a little more gray. He sat in the guest room, staring at the walls, the weather promised rain for that evening, so he had to go with a black and yellow ensemble that his girl half could get away with. Just before six, he trod down stairs, looking for an umbrella.  
  
"Kasumi, do you know where the umbrella is? I can't find it. I thought it was in the stand in the foyer, but it isn't there."  
  
Not looking up from the steaming pan of vegetables, Kasumi thought for a second, and answered with, "Father had it last, so it's probably on the back porch." Pulling the pan off the heat, she looked at Ranma, and judged his appearance. "You look nice, Ranma. Did Nabiki pick the outfit?"  
  
"No, I did. I figured that with the rain, I'd better be ready." Ranma peered to see the stove, looking for a kettle. "Is a thermos ready?"  
  
"Oh, dear. Just give me a moment, I'll get one for you. Just relax and you'll have a good time."  
  
"I'll get the umbrella. Thanks, Kasumi." Ranma walked to the back porch. Sliding open the doors, he found the umbrella. Unfortunately, he found his panda-form father too. Genma had a stack of signs by him, ready to deliver a long, and if necessary, painful lecture.  
  
Flipping signs almost too fast to read, Genma tried to get his point across once again. "Ranma! Why are you taking Nabiki out?"  
  
Grabbing the umbrella, Ranma weighed the options of beating his father to a pulp versus getting wet and his outfit dirty.  
  
His father was still flipping signs, "Shouldn't you be taking Akane, your *fiancee* out?"  
  
Ranma popped open the umbrella in hand and shook it dry. He tensed, about to jump his father when he heard Nabiki's voice call out for him, "Ranma! Aren't you ready yet?" Realizing that facing the wrath of an angry Nabiki was worse than listening to his father, he closed the umbrella, stuck his tongue at his father, and walked back into the house.  
  
Ranma wasn't ready for what he saw. Nabiki was standing at the threshold of the hall wearing a knee length aqua and white skirt and a white blouse. He had not seen the outfit on her before, and was surprised that it made her look soft and kind, instead of the strict disciplinarian she can be. After staring a moment too long he was able to say something.  
  
"Wow, Nabiki. You look nice!"  
  
"Why, thank you Ranma. You look good too, but it seems you expect trouble."  
  
Ranma scratches the back of his head and said, "I just wanna be prepared, that's all."  
  
"Well, then, let's go mister Boy Scout!"  
  
The restaurant that Nabiki chose was a distance away, as Ranma and Nabiki waited at the taxi stop, Ranma felt the first drops of rain, and opened the umbrella. Nabiki moved in closer to Ranma, and held his hand, pulling the umbrella closer to her. Only after the taxi arrived did Nabiki let go of Ranma's hand.  
  
At dinner, both Nabiki and Ranma found that eating chicken with a fork and knife wasn't all that hard, but the peas were a challenge. They shared a slice of chocolate banana cake, and left after Ranma paid the bill.  
  
The rain had stopped for the moment, but Ranma still held the umbrella above his head, and Nabiki still held his hand. As they walked down the sidewalk, they looked at the expensive cars parked on the street, trying to imagine what kind of person drove each one.  
  
Out from behind them, they heard a well known voice cry out. "Ranma! You traitor! Taking Nabiki out on a date while you leave Akane home! What kind of fiancee are you?"  
  
Nabiki looked at Ranma. On one hand, she had been expecting something like this to occur, but on the other hand, she was hoping that the evening would be quiet. Sounding a little disappointed, "Ranma, Ryoga's here. Remember, no fighting."  
  
"Don't worry Nabiki, I can handle him." Ranma said as he handed her the umbrella. "Hey, Pig! Go home!"  
  
Ryoga stepped out of the shadows and looked at the couple. "Oh, who's the pig? The last time I saw you eat, you ate all your lunch in fifteen seconds. Oh, that wasn't so bad, but the burp you let loose, eww!"  
  
Ranma became peeved, Ryoga was ruining the best evening he had in a long time. "Ryoga. I promised I wouldn't get into any fights tonight. So leave us alone."  
  
"Coward. Oh, well. I guess I'll head on over to see what Akane's up to. See you!"  
  
"Oh, sure. Just stay out of that bed, P-Chan!"  
  
"Girl!"  
  
Nabiki stepped in front of Ranma, who looked like he was about to challenge Ryoga to a fight.  
  
"Ranma, no," she protested. "Stop right there. You promised you wouldn't..." Nabiki found that she was talking to dead air. Suddenly a down pour occurred, the water blinding her for a second while she tried to keep the umbrella under control. A second later the rain let up enough for Nabiki to see Ranma had changed to his girl form.  
  
"Where's Ryoga?" Nabiki inquired, "I thought I saw him right there, by the pig."  
  
Nabiki froze. Thought one: "Pig?" Thought two: "Where's Ryoga?" Holding the umbrella, she picked up the little black pig by the bandanna and suddenly stood still.  
  
"Ranma, this is Ryoga, isn't it? P-Chan is Ryoga!"  
  
"Uh, oh." Ranma's first words ever spoken as a child were uttered once again.  
  
"You've been letting Ryoga sleep with my sister! What, what, whaa...!" Nabiki became very angry, angry enough that she was having problems thinking a coherent thought.  
  
"Nabiki, I can explain. Really..."  
  
"You have one chance, Ranma. It had better be a good one." Nabiki still hadn't let go of P-Chan, and her hands were tightening around its neck.  
  
"It's a long story, Nabiki."  
  
"We've got all night. Start."  
  
"You are choking him."  
  
"Good. You're next if you don't start talking..."  
  
Ranma related the story of how Ryoga became cursed, his fights with Ryoga, and his promise not to tell anyone of his weakness.  
  
"So, you are saying that your promise to Ryoga to keep his curse a secret wasn't as important as my sister's privacy?"  
  
"Huh? Didn't you hear me? I've been trying to let Akane know who P-Chan is all along! I've tried throwin' Ryoga out of her room many times. Remember the first night? The next morning you said that I oughta be more quiet when I'm in a girls room! I was trying to get Ryoga out of there!"  
  
Nabiki's memory flashed back to the time when P-Chan first arrived, the noise, and the fight between Ranma and Akane that night. She dropped Ryoga, who scurried for cover under a car. The pig looked at Ranma with an unreadable expression.  
  
"You've been trying all along haven't you? You even did it again a few minutes ago." Trying to deal the change of who Ryouga really is, Nabiki asked for more information, "Who else knows?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Perhaps Shampoo and the old mummy, but they won't tell either."  
  
Nabiki smiled like a vulture that's circling a newly discovered corpse, she called for Ryoga. "Come here you pig. I've got a deal for you."  
  
Ryoga was terrified. The deal, he knew, would have a price to pay. He tentatively walked to Nabiki, who picked him up by the scruff of his neck.  
  
"Ryoga, my little P-Chan. You know I'm not under any oath or anything. Do you know what's going to keep me from telling everyone, and especially Akane? Your cooperation. Understand?"  
  
Ryoga nodded. He didn't really understand, but he knew that Nabiki would have him cornered at a later date.  
  
"Come on Ranma, lets go home and show Akane what we found." Nabiki let P- chan down, and grabs Ranma's arm.  
  
"Nabiki?"  
  
"Yes, Ranma?"  
  
"Can I change?"  
  
"Yes, you may."  
  
Akane was very happy to see P-Chan, so happy that she never noticed that Ranma and Nabiki were holding hands.  
  
That night, Nabiki couldn't sleep. Her mind kept on wandering, thinking about how Ranma tries to keep one promise to Ryoga, and ensure her sister's purity. As she hoped, the night was interesting, she would never forget it. She looked at her hand, the hand that was held in Ranma's, and sighed. Sleep eventually came...  
  
***  
  
Ranma and Nabiki were discussing the next month's budget, or rather, Nabiki was discussing the budget and Ranma was doing sit-ups. A few hours ago, the family had just decided that they wanted to take an expensive vacation sometime in the following year, and they asked Nabiki to review the finances to ensure that the vacation could take place. Unfortunately, the anticipated costs were still very steep, and it looked like the vacation may have to wait another year unless a source of income was found to supplement the existing income.  
  
After going over the books that she and Kasumi kept, Nabiki finally threw a pencil at Ranma to ensure that she had his attention.  
  
"Well, Mister Know-it-all. Any suggestions?"  
  
"Salvage sounds like a good bet." Ranma's brain was working for a solution.  
  
"Salvage?" Nabiki was curious.  
  
"Yeah. Me and Pops would go look for interesting stuff. Sometimes we would find something worth a lot of money, and then we'd sell it. Other times we would buy what we could and then resell whatever we bought in another town or to someone else that was willing to pay more than what we paid for what we were selling."  
  
"So? We do the same thing sometimes; we sell things we don't need for money."  
  
"It's not the same thing. Pops and I would spend days looking for the best things to sell, and then we'd look for it. It would take about a month to figure it all out. By the end of three or four months, we'd have a steady income if we didn't get caught."  
  
"How much did you make? You couldn't have made much." Nabiki was interested in how he and his father survived, this must have been one of the tricks they used.  
  
"It depends on the area. Places that have a lot of money tend to get rid of stuff when they are still good. We'd try to pick a place that had rich people, and we'd resell their stuff in other parts of the town."  
  
"Kind of like Robin Hood?"  
  
"Kinda." There had been cases in the past where Ranma couldn't be sure if the things they sold were legal. Sometimes he didn't care, but if he ever knew the stuff came from someone he knew, he'd be angry.  
  
Curious, Nabiki wondered if Ranma thought that Nerima was a good place to resell. "Ranma? What about Nerima? Do you think reselling would work here?" Nabiki was sure it would, there were enclaves of rich families here and there, the Kunos being one such family.  
  
Ranma thought for a moment and scratched his head before saying, "I think so. That area where the Kuno's live seem to be pretty good. There seem to be enough martial artists around here that go through training supplies, and..." Ranma's voice drifted off while he tried to assess how much money could be made by moving goods.  
  
Nabiki was thinking along the same lines. If she was successful, she wouldn't have to sell any more of the family heirlooms, and the area did look promising to her. Getting excited at a potential financial success, she blurted, "So, when do we start?"  
  
"We? I do this alone," Ranma said. He didn't want a girl with him in such a dirty business.  
  
"You can't do this alone Ranma. You don't know where to go or what to look for. I can give you a one-month head start, telling you where to go to find things to sell, and I already know who will buy what you find. Remember, I have been selling some things already, I have the connections."  
  
Ranma looked at the girl, wondering how he could keep his shirt if she was involved.  
  
"If you help, you'll claim at least half the money."  
  
"Of course. It'll be a partnership, we'll split the money."  
  
"What do you plan on doing with your half?"  
  
"I'll keep some money, but most of it will go to help with the house or the vacation."  
  
"How much you plan on keeping?"  
  
"Nosey, aren't you?" Nabiki was getting annoyed at Ranma's line of questioning. "Probably a quarter of my share. Maybe more. I won't know until I see the money in the first place."  
  
"Three fourths of the money we get goes to the household. We split the rest evenly." Ranma decided to go for the partnership. Once he learned the contacts, and if Nabiki betrayed him, he can continue the "business" without her help.  
  
Nabiki quickly agreed to the proportion. Although she was shooting for a full quarter of the revenue, she realized that the household and the vacation came first, and that any income would be an increase over what anyone was earning at the time.  
  
***  
  
Ranma and Nabiki started to scout neighborhoods that showed signs of wealth; they paid attention to rumors as to which families were on hard times, which families just came into money, which families had members join or leave, and which families were remodeling. Simultaneously they looked for places that would be willing to buy their goods. It took time, and occasionally they would have to spend a little money to find information that was useful. In a little over a month, they had started to buying and selling merchandise. It was slow going, but the returns were substantial. Nabiki would negotiate a low purchase price, Ranma would provide the muscle to move the goods, and then Nabiki would negotiate a high resale price.  
  
Occasionally some people would object to selling items to Ranma and Nabiki as they were so young, but they would allow them to act as sales agents. Although this wasn't as lucrative, it was easier work because the work came to them.  
  
Nabiki quickly learned the value of looking good, and had to impress onto Ranma the importance of appearance. They started dressing better, and Nabiki began wearing dresses and skirts that showed off her legs and conservative blouses that if worn correctly, would show that she had an ample bosom.  
  
Ranma was reluctant to stop wearing his Chinese shirts, so Nabiki looked for and found several new shirts that met Ranma's approval and he wore on their excursions.  
  
It was about three months after the original agreement that Nabiki and Ranma found themselves lugging a large chest they had purchased from an estate sale. The original owner, a semi-wealthy Italian, had died, and the heirs decided that all the assets in Japan were to be sold. The enterprising duo had already acquired several items, and was ready to leave the premises when Ranma spotted the chest hidden in a dark corner. The deal was closed quickly, as Nabiki offered to purchase the unopened and locked chest "as is" for a mere pittance.  
  
In the guestroom, which at the moment was acting as a warehouse for things to be sold, Ranma was getting ready to break the old lock on the wooden chest.  
  
"Ranma, wait. Don't bash anything yet. I think I can pick the lock." Nabiki had just walked into the room and was holding a small bag. She sat down in front of the chest and pulled out two long, thin pieces of steel and inserted them into the old lock. About twenty minutes later, wiped the sweat off her brow, and spit a lock of hair out of her mouth, and let lose a smile.  
  
"Done! That lock was really strange, every time I thought I had the tumblers right, a spring would release and twist everything around again. Thank god for hairpins!"  
  
At the moment of Nabiki's announcement, he was trying to pick clean the gum off the insides of a vase. He had one hand inside the mouth scraping away, and the other hand was trying to hold the vase still. It was delicate work, as the vase looked to be old and fragile, but in very good shape. Ranma was under strict instructions to make sure the vase will give a good presentation to prospective buyers so he was taking the utmost care he possibly could. Tired of cleaning things he wasn't going to own, he stopped and climbed over a few boxes to where Nabiki was working.  
  
He watched Nabiki unbuckle the old leather straps and lift the old black lid. Slowly Nabiki and Ranma started to unpack the contents of the old chest, with Nabiki handing to Ranma each item, who unwrapped and placed that item on the ground to review later. They pulled out an old Italian Navy uniform, a photo album, an ensign, several old books, a small box containing old coins, and finally a blanket that was wrapped around a shoe sized crucifix made ivory that was inlaid with copper, gold, and silver.  
  
Ranma looked at the things and was unimpressed. To him, it was all old stuff that wouldn't have any value to anyone other than another old Italian.  
  
On the other hand, Nabiki started hyperventilating; she reached for Ranma's shoulder for support when she became dizzy. It was obvious that she knew they had a major find when she pulled out the uniform, but the ensign and books were beyond any expectation. When she saw Ranma unwrap the crucifix, visions of an early retirement in Bali seemed to float in front of her eyes.  
  
"Get a hold of yourself, Nabiki. It ain't that much there."  
  
"Ra... Ra... Ranma. Those there, alone," she was pointing to the books, "are worth more than almost everything else in this room combined. That cross has to be worth even more than everything in here combined."  
  
She blinked, shook her head, and pinched herself. "Ranma, this is what we've been looking for. This is our vacation, our scholarships."  
  
Ranma started to wrap everything back up and put them back into the trunk.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Not stopping, and speeding up slightly, Ranma whispered to his partner, "If Pops sees this, we'll never see the money. He'll take it all to some junk shop and get rid of it."  
  
Nabiki sighed. As much as she wanted to inspect their find, risk of Uncle Genma showing up and making a mess of things was too great. Silently, she helped Ranma shut the chest and buckle the straps.  
  
It was easy for them to sell the uniform, ensign, and photo album to a military collector they had met a few weeks prior. The coins and books were given to a dealer and were quickly sold on consignment, but the crucifix concerned Nabiki. That she could sell it wasn't a question; rather it was how to get full value of the sale without attracting unwanted attention. The crucifix was obviously a very old, and very well preserved artifact.  
  
She looked at her ledger, and concluded that the sale of the Italian stuff had already paid for the vacation next year, fixed the roof of the house, paid the taxes for the rest of the year, and even bought a new water heater for the furo.  
  
She looked at the new bankbooks and glanced at the numbers on opening page on the one that had her name on it.  
  
***  
  
It was a raining earlier that afternoon when Ranma and Nabiki went to the bank to open their accounts. As soon as they stepped in, a young clerk that promised to help them enthusiastically greeted them.  
  
"Yes. That isn't a problem." The young lady looked at Ranma and Nabiki, sizing the pair up. Noting the physical closeness and the ease that they stood next to each other, she asked what she thought was an obvious question.  
  
"Will this be a joint account?"  
  
Although Ranma had learned some basics of economics and how banks work from Nabiki, there were still great chasms of knowledge, so his response was simply, "Huh?"  
  
Nabiki, who could honestly claim that she taught Ranma everything he knows about banks, couldn't believe what she heard. There was no way she was going to share her account with Ranma, and she couldn't fathom what gave the woman across from her the impression that she and Ranma had a relationship that would suggest a joint banking account. It wasn't with an icy tone, but one could hear the coolness in her voice.  
  
"I don't think so. We were thinking about an ordinary savings account. One for each of us."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." The teller blushed at her gaffe, and hoped that the girl with the stern face and handsome companion would forgive her easily. She sat the couple in a couple of chairs in front of her desk, and retrieved two new account packets from her drawer, and explained to the two of them what they had to fill out. As Nabiki and Ranma started to fill out the paper work, the woman went to work filling out a form computer to establish the account.  
  
Nabiki quickly finished her forms, and then started helping Ranma.  
  
The endless small boxes that seemed impossible to fill in neatly stymied Ranma. He was barely finished with the first page when Nabiki pulled one of his forms from his stack and started filling it in for him. Occasionally she would ask him a question about his past, and would fill in another question.  
  
When they were done, Nabiki looked over the forms one last time and decided to re-do Ranma's first sheet. His clumsy characters were barely legible, and there were several small errors that should be corrected. She asked for, and received a new form, and filled it in as if she was on autopilot. When done, Ranma signed everything in the places where he thought he should, and handed the papers to Nabiki, who without another glance, handed both stacks to the officer.  
  
Nabiki pulled out of her purse two envelopes and put them on the desk. The woman took the envelopes and counted the cash in them. When finished, she handed to Nabiki two bankbooks, one with Ranma's name, and one with Nabiki's name, thanking them for choosing their bank. After making a quick phone call, she escorted them to a teller that was waiting for them, and they finally made the formal deposit. When finished, the teller handed both books back to Nabiki, and thanked them for coming.  
  
As they stepped out of the bank, the weather began to get worse so Ranma and Nabiki quickly sought the protection of a covered bus stop. Huddling next to the glass to escape the wet wind, Ranma and Nabiki waited for the bus to pick them up.  
  
Ranma flexed his hand, trying to get the pain out of his palm as he complained, "That wasn't so bad. I didn't think I be doing so much writing."  
  
"Well, I think it took a lot longer than I thought it would." Nabiki was excited at having her own bank account. Yes, it offered almost no interest, but it was hers, and no one could touch it but her. She'll take some of it out later and invest it, but for now she was content in knowing that it was all hers.  
  
When the bus arrived, the wheels sprayed water all over the curb, triggering Ranma's curse. Ranma sighed at his transformation, and followed Nabiki into the bus. The bus was standing room only, and Ranma and Nabiki made their way to the back.  
  
As the bus started to move, Nabiki lurched forward a little into Ranma's arms.  
  
"Hey! Hold on to something!" Ranma groused.  
  
"There's a pervert over there. He just pinched me."  
  
Ranma looked around Nabiki and couldn't figure out who it was. "Here, switch places with me."  
  
After trading places, Onna-Ranma shook his head, letting his wet hair flow free, and made a cute smile. He stood there, holding on the pole silently, waiting to see if anything would happen.  
  
Onna-Ranma did not have to wait long, as the bus came to a stop, he felt a hand pinch his butt hard. With speed and precision, Ranma reached around and caught the offending hand and gave a quick flick and twist. Instantly there was a quiet yelp of pain and the hand was jerked back.  
  
Ranma was quickly pushed aside as a middle-aged salaryman bolted out the door while holding his wrist. Ranma moved forward to Nabiki and gave her a small smile of victory.  
  
Nabiki was surprised that Ranma would take care of her like that. She knew that he'd do it for Akane (assuming Akane didn't kill the offender in the first place), but actually taking action for her was a very pleasant surprise. She found her face getting warm and the watching the rain run down the windows become very interesting.  
  
***  
  
It was nearly three weeks later that Ranma found a small museum that would inspect the crucifix and possibly buy it. Both Ranma and Nabiki had discussed what to do with the proceeds of the sale, and decided that they wouldn't say anything to anyone, and split the proceeds between themselves. Ranma agreed to pay twenty percent of his cut as "rent", and would give that money to Nabiki.  
  
An investigation by the two of them of the crucifix led them to think it's value of the would be approaching eight to ten million yen, and that the buyer would offer about half that. Ranma said he would take anything, as he didn't care too much about how much money the cross was worth; Nabiki had a different opinion, she wanted to bring in as much as possible without scaring the buyer away. To this effect, they agreed that he would let her negotiate the sale.  
  
During the sale, Nabiki was annoyed that Ranma hovered over her. She enjoyed his presence, and wanted his company, but he was physically too close. Every so often she'd smell him and she'd be distracted. He dressed nice for the meeting, and she found that her eyes wandered his direction and was not watching the buyer for signs of weakness.  
  
In the end, the crucifix sold for just over three million Yen, less than what Nabiki expected she would get. Because the amount was so large, they had to sign some extra papers at the bank; because the payment was a single check, Nabiki had to deposit it into her account promising Ranma that his share will be transferred at a later date. In their giddiness of such a large deposit, the whole banking experience was a blur to both Ranma and Nabiki.  
  
Outside, as they waited for the bus, Nabiki rubbed her hands as she tried to work the pain out from all the signatures and stamping she and Ranma had to do at the bank. Surprised at the amount of paperwork that a deposit for millions of Yen generated, she shook her head as her emotions quieted.  
  
Standing behind the windbreak at the bus-stop, she tried to calm down by talking to Ranma. When she opened her mouth to speak a loud diesel fire truck passed by with sirens blaring. The loud noise was all was needed to shake her free from giddiness to thoughtful contemplation about finances.  
  
Despite the growing bank accounts, she felt she failed. What she couldn't figure out though, was why her feelings of failure had less to do with her poor negotiation than with realization that she probably paid more attention to Ranma than the sale. She vowed that she'd think about her lack of concentration over later when she had some quiet time.  
  
"I could have done better, Ranma. I'm sorry," she said as she leaned against the metal wall.  
  
"Hey, you did good. You got him to pay more money than I've ever seen my whole life!"  
  
Nabiki put her arm around Ranma's and pulled him into her. "That's probably true, but I think I should have been able to get at least five."  
  
Ranma looked at the brown-haired girl with questioning eyes.  
  
"It's okay, Ranma." When Nabiki saw his eyes, she leaned into Ranma and absent-mindedly placed her head on his arm. She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "I'll have to learn how to focus better, that's all. Besides, I've never seen that much money either."  
  
As the bus arrived, they watched another series of fire trucks roll by before boarding. Nabiki found it strange that she had to untangle her arm from around him; she couldn't remember when she started to hold Ranma. 


	12. Chapter 12

"Come on, Son. We have to get moving!" Genma shouted as he rapidly filled a rucksack with a few changes of clothes and some food he'd pilfered from the kitchen. He cast about the room with a nervous eye, looking for anything he might need for the weekend. Occasionally he would glance at hi son on to see if he was packing his belongings as well. "If we get caught, it'll be over..."  
  
Ranma was slowly filling his own bag, wondering what had his father so nervous and why he was muttering something about pain, being too young and mistakes. He didn't want to leave the house as the weather looked as if it was about to turn sour. On the other hand, it has been a long time since he went on a training journey, and the break may help him clear his thoughts. With a slightly increased speed, he finished packing, and waited for his father to tie his stash shut.  
  
On the way out, Kasumi stopped Ranma and gave him a box of food, and reminded him to be polite, even if his father was acting like the panda that he sometimes was. At the door, he handed Kasumi a note for Nabiki as they shared a private smile. As headed to the gate, hoping that the time away from the Tendo house would be short. When he saw Soun Tendo with a pack on his back waiting for him, he knew that the trip was going to be short and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
That very same morning, Akane and Nabiki decided to go shopping to kill time and to see what was new in the world. After several hours of walking through stores, peering into windows, and grabbing the occasional bite of junk food to eat, they found themselves taking a break in the mid-afternoon while walking home.  
  
Sitting on a bench and sipping coffee, the two sisters watched a lady dressed in a formal kimono walk in and out of various shops. Finishing their drinks, the two sisters discarded the empty cups, and started towards home again, occasionally stopping into a small store to browse their wares before continuing on.  
  
Akane and Nabiki had just left a grocer with a pair of small bags for Kasumi when they were greeted by a polite voice.  
  
"Excuse me. Could you please help me? I seem to be lost."  
  
Nabiki eyed the source of the voice; it belonged to the lady in the kimono they were watching earlier. The kimono was in good shape, although it showed signs of being worn all day. The face of the woman looked vaguely familiar to Nabiki but she couldn't say exactly what was tugging at her memories.  
  
It was the well-trained and reserved motions that impressed Akane. It was obvious to her that this lady had studied to be a courtier of some sort, or perhaps, a member of one of those conservative cultural preservation groups that were becoming more common. In either case, this lady had a tangible presence that had to be acknowledged.  
  
Both Akane and Nabiki stood up and held their hands in front of them and gave a polite bow.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. We'll do our best." Akane voice didn't quite sound right to her own ears. She tried to be polite, but it sounded hoarse to her ears in comparison to the woman's speech.  
  
"I'm very sorry, but I'm looking for the Tendo Dojo. I hear that my son and husband might be found there."  
  
Nabiki and Akane looked at each other with confusion on their faces.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
Nabiki recovered quickly. This woman may well be a future family member, and she didn't want to cause any potential future problems. "No, ma'am. It's just that I'm Nabiki Tendo, and this is my sister, Akane. We're on our way home now, and if you'd like, we'd be happy if you could join us."  
  
Nodoka looked at the girls in front of her and tried to discern any clues about their upbringing. The taller and older one, Nabiki, seemed to carry an air of confidence, and was able to put on a neutral mask once the initial surprise wore off. The other girl, slightly shorter, was obviously in very good physical shape, but her emotions were easily read on her face.  
  
The clothes they wore were perhaps in style, but they were certainly cared for. The final analysis was that both girls were polite and good children. Perhaps she could learn more about the Tendos and any new information on the whereabouts of the Saotomes.  
  
"Thank you. I think I will take advantage of your offer." Nodoka Saotome joined the two girls on their way home, making small talk along the way. It wasn't easy for her to not bombard the sisters with questions about her missing son, but the years of practice that gave her patience to wait just a few more minutes.  
  
It was after Nodoka was seated at the table and had her first sip of tea when she could no longer contain her questions. Addressing her questions to the eldest daughter, Nodoka cautiously broached the question of about the possible whereabouts of her missing son and husband.  
  
"Kasumi, is there anything you can tell me about my husband and son?"  
  
"This morning, my father, Mr. Saotome, and Ranma went on a training trip. They are supposed to be home by tomorrow night." Kasumi politely refilled Nodoka's cup.  
  
"They, they have been here?"  
  
"They've been living here ever since they returned from China."  
  
To Nodoka, Kasumi's statement was either the best news she'd ever heard in years, or the worst. Why Genma never returned home was a major concern, and that will be dealt with, but at least for now she knew she was close to her missing son. Her happiness was quickly tempered with a dash of curiosity.  
  
"But why did they come here instead of coming home?"  
  
The expression on the faces of the three girls wavered, as the sisters looked at each other as to what to say. Akane was about to say something, but Nabiki stopped her. "I think that's something that Father and Uncle Saotome ought to cover. What we do know is kind of," Nabiki paused looking for the correct word, "complicated. To be honest, you have to see it all to believe it."  
  
"What? Is something wrong? Are they okay?" The Saotome woman's voice took on a tone of alarm.  
  
"Mrs. Saotome, they both have gone through many hardships since you last saw them, and it has been ten years since you've seen them."  
  
Nodoka realized what Kasumi just said. Her little boy is probably not a little boy any longer. And her husband, after ten years, probably lost the fat he gained when they were first married.  
  
It was her son that captured her fancy at the moment. She wanted to know what these three girls thought of him. She took a sip of her tea, and looked at the girls, and began to wonder about their relationship with Ranma.  
  
"Ranma. Tell me about Ranma. What's he like? Did my husband make him a man among men?" The answers from each of the girls varied, but what she heard from the girls surprised her.  
  
"Well, if anyone ever calls him a girl, he'll beat him up."  
  
"The pervert!"  
  
"He's helpful and kind."  
  
"He can learn anything."  
  
"He's honorable."  
  
"He never loses."  
  
"He peeped at me!"  
  
And so it went. Kasumi invited Nodoka for dinner and set of for the kitchen while Nabiki and Akane told stories of Ranma. Nodoka heard stories about battles with Amazons, with his rival Ryouga, and with the myriad strange martial artists that inhabit Nerima.  
  
By the time Kasumi started to bring food from the kitchen, Nabiki and Akane had brought out photo albums of Ranma and were elaborating on previous stories. There were pictures of Ranma working out, fighting, and relaxing on the beach; many of the photographs were very candid shots, almost as if he never knew they were being taken. As she studied the pictures and heard the descriptions, she noticed that Nabiki were in only a very few of them, and of the ones she was in, she was always seemed to be standing next to Ranma.  
  
As they ate, Kasumi talked about how she, with Ranma's help, were able to improve the garden and the general state of the house, even with the damage his fights occasionally caused. Her own stories of Ranma were almost domestic; it was as if they spent long hours together talking and working.  
  
Nodoka learned of Ranma's resourcefulness and willingness to help the family from Nabiki. The middle daughter seemed to be keeping a few secrets, but it was clear that the two of them worked together frequently.  
  
Akane's description of life with Ranma was adventuresome and full of wistfulness. On one side of the coin, it appeared that Ranma had many fights, often in defense of Akane. On the other side of the coin, Akane told of good times when the just talked or the occasional date.  
  
As they ate, Nodoka kept listening to what the three girls were saying about her son. Each of the daughters told a different side of her boy. He was a complex young man that obviously defied simple explanations. She was feeling very proud of her son and her husband. From all appearances, her son is the man she wanted to return home, but she had yet to hear his own word about his relationships with woman. She was certain that Ranma held a special place in the hearts of these three girls, but she had to know if there was anything special between them.  
  
When she heard Akane's concerns about Ukyou (a man's name? Oh dear!) and Shampoo, she became alarmed.  
  
"Who are Ukyou and Shampoo?"  
  
Nabiki sighed. The answer was going to open the door for many questions. "Ukyou thinks she's Ranma's fiancee. And Shampoo thinks Ranma is married to her."  
  
"You sound disappointed." Nodoka was very happy to hear how Ranma has attracted two girls. She was also very relieved to hear the female pronoun.  
  
"They don't have a claim to him! One is a deluded cross dresser, the other is a Chinese bimbo!"  
  
Akane's ire was proof to Nodoka that the young girl felt something for her son. "Oh, given what you've said tonight, I would say he has enough love for you as well." Nodoka was smiling with visions of a very large family in the future. When the table went and stayed silent, Nodoka knew she touched on a subject that was sensitive.  
  
It was Kasumi that spoke first. "Mrs. Saotome, are you aware of an agreement between our father and your husband?"  
  
"No. What agreement?"  
  
"That the two families were to be joined."  
  
"So one of you is married to my son?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Nodoka turned to Nabiki. What do you mean by 'not yet?'"  
  
"Ranma has shown a little reluctance to get married."  
  
"I'm not marrying that pervert!"  
  
"Nobody said you had to."  
  
Akane stared at Kasumi.  
  
"So why do you get so jealous when Shampoo gets so friendly?" Nabiki had to needle her sister when the opportunity presented itself. Akane sat and fumed.  
  
"So who has Ranma chosen?"  
  
There was another silence at the table before Nabiki spoke with disappointment in her voice. "Actually, he hasn't picked anyone."  
  
Confusion played on their guest's face for a moment, then a realization dawned upon her. Her manly son, Ranma, was engaged to all three of these lovely girls! What joy!  
  
It was then that Nodoka realized the late hour. With an ease of years of practice, Nodoka thanked the girls for their hospitality and gave them her phone number in exchange for a promise to call her when Ranma returns to the house.  
  
After watching Nodoka turn the corner, the three girls gathered in Kasumi's room to discuss Nodoka Saotome. Nabiki observed how Nodoka was so concerned about hearing and seeing how masculine Ranma was. "I just hope we didn't over do it."  
  
"I don't think we did. It's not like we lied or anything. Does anyone think that we can stop Mrs. Saotome from being too upset when she finds out about his curse?"  
  
"I don't know. And there's no way that we can hide it from her. You know how he attracts water."  
  
They all agree that to ensure a happy reunion between Ranma and his mother, that they would have to keep Genma at bay. They stay up another hour plotting the reunion, but question of how to delicately introduce Ranma's sex change to Nodoka went unanswered. Ranma's curse seems to defy all logical means to control it, so each of the girls decided to let fate take its course.  
  
It was early the next afternoon that Soun, Genma and Ranma returned home with the mission being declared a success, the three males tromped into the bathroom for long hot soak. While they worked the dirt and fatigue from their bodies, Akane called Nodoka and let her know that Ranma is now home and briefly explained the plan that the three sisters concocted the previous night.  
  
Akane cornered Ranma while on his way to his room. Groggily listening to Akane rant something about a history test, he nodded and tried to go to his room for some sleep.  
  
"Ranma, Nabiki is waiting for you."  
  
Ranma looked at Akane and wondered how he could get away. Deciding that escape was not worth the effort, he finally gave in, and agreed with Akane, if for no other reason for the faint hope he could catch some sleep on Nabiki's floor -- assuming she would leave him alone.  
  
Meanwhile, Kasumi found Genma and her father getting ready to play a game of shogi. She sweetly asked her father and Genma to go shopping for some groceries she had forgotten. After a small protest that was quenched when Kasumi mentioned that they were low on sake, the two elders trudged out the door with a mission that would keep them out of the house for at least a few hours.  
  
It was just minutes after the two men left the house that Nodoka knocked at the front door. With Nodoka's arrival, the sisters put the plan into the next phase. Kasumi escorted Ranma's mother into the living room while Akane went upstairs to fetch the wayward son.  
  
"Ranma, there's someone down stairs that you should meet."  
  
"Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes! Now get down there!" Akane wasn't allowing Ranma any room for maneuvering.  
  
Ranma recognized the tone of voice, and pulled himself up off the ground. "I'll be back, Nabiki."  
  
Nabiki could hardly surpress her smile. "Take your time, Ranma. These books aren't going to go on a ten year training journey."  
  
"This isn't a challenge, is it?"  
  
"No, Ranma. It's not a challenge." Akane giggled. "At least it won't be a fight."  
  
When the two of them reached the tearoom, Akane opened the door to allow Ranma to see an auburn haired woman sitting at the table.  
  
"Go on in."  
  
Ranma walked in, and Akane followed, shutting the door behind her. After the two of them approached the table, Akane began the introduction.  
  
"Ranma. This is Nodoka Saotome. Your mother." Akane took a half step back.  
  
Ranma looked at the older woman, and then at Akane, wondering if there was a joke being played on him. It was Akane's eyes that told Ranma that she was telling the truth. He turned to look at the woman that could be his mother.  
  
"Nodoka, this is Ranma."  
  
The two Saotomes looked at each other's face, trying to find something to recognize. Ranma starts to scratch the back of his head when he saw the woman blink; that one action brought fourth a connection between a tattered photograph and the woman in front of him.  
  
"Momma?" Ranma started to move him closer to his mother despite his struggle to maintain a sense of decorum. "Momma? Is it really you?"  
  
A single tear started down Nodoka's face. She started to stand, but her legs weakened with emotion and she faltered, and started to fall forward. "Ranma."  
  
Ranma moved forward and caught his mother. "Momma."  
  
"I'm okay, Ranma." Nodoka slowly pulled away from her son, elated that he looked like the man in the photographs she had seen the night before.  
  
"Son, is your father around? Is he here?"  
  
"I don't know where Pops went. He probably went with Mr. Tendo to pick up some more sake or something."  
  
"That figures. He was always a drinker." Nodoka nodded at Ranma, who embarrassingly poured two cups of tea and offered one cup to his mother.  
  
"So, the girls tell me you've had an interesting life."  
  
Ranma almost spit the tea out of his mouth. "Er, yes. That would be about right."  
  
Nodoka took a slow sip from her cup and watched Ranma sit with a bewildered look on his face. "Have the Tendos treated you well?"  
  
Ranma nodded his head vigorously. "Yep."  
  
"You getting along with the three girls?"  
  
Ranma started to fidget; he wasn't expecting such a probe into his personal life so quickly. "I guess so."  
  
"You like them?"  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"Any one of them more special than the others?"  
  
"Well, um, uuh, er, you know, uh, that..."  
  
Nodoka laughed at her son's uneasiness. She could see how he would be engaged to all three girls; his shyness makes him attractive. "I heard about your engagements. I suppose congratulations are in order."  
  
Ranma slumped. "Mom, whatever you heard, it isn't what you think."  
  
"Oh? You mean there isn't an agreement between your father and Mr. Tendo to join the families?"  
  
"Well, there is that, but..."  
  
"There's nothing to worry about. You marry one, and the other two can be your mistresses!" With a mischievous eye, Nodoka looked at her son. "Unless, of course, you'd rather try to marry all three."  
  
"Wha!" Ranma backed away from the table and started windmilling.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"It's not like that..."  
  
"You mean you don't like them?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You do like them?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Ranma, do you like them or not?"  
  
"I like them."  
  
"Well, they seem to like you. I don't see a problem."  
  
"It's not like that!"  
  
"Well, then, what's the problem?"  
  
"There isn't one. It's just that I'm not ready to get married."  
  
"No problem. I can wait."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Ranma, I know we just met, but I'm a woman, and woman can tell certain things. Right now, I know that those three girls on the other side of that door love you."  
  
Ranma didn't respond, and the room was silent for a few minutes. Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door.  
  
"Ahem." Kasumi peered through the door with a smile on her face. When she knew she had the attention of Ranma and Nodoka, she threw the door open, revealing Genma."  
  
"Nodo... Nodo... Nodo..." Genma tried to flee the scene, but was tripped by Nabiki and Akane.  
  
"So, Genma. I see you're trying to run away again." Nodoka smiled at her husbands' futile attempt.  
  
"No, no, no. I'm, uh, just, uh..."  
  
"Come over here!" Nodoka ordered Genma into the room. Slowly he walked in and stood in front of her. She looked him over, trying to see if he's still all there.  
  
"You look good." Nodoka adjusted the belt around her husband's waist. "You've lost weight. Perhaps the trip was good to you."  
  
Genma swelled at the compliment, but as soon as he was about to say something, she grabbed the collar of his gi and held him out at arms length.  
  
"Why did you stop writing? And what's the reason for coming here instead of home?"  
  
Akane and Nabiki sat Ranma down, and then took their places on either side of him. Kasumi, the hostess, was bringing more tea when Genma started to stammer his answer.  
  
"You see, uh, it's a martial artists duty to uh, protect those that can't protect themselves, and uh, always train so that they can be, uh, the best they can be, and uh..."  
  
Nabiki whispered just loud enough so that Ranma and Akane could hear her. "This ought to be good."  
  
"Genma, you are hiding something. What is it?" Nodoka had unsheathed her sword from behind her back and had the sharp edge of the blade just a hair width away from Genma's nose.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing! It's that uh, Ranma, that boy! We have to leave. Now!"  
  
"What for, old man? I'm not leaving this place." Nabiki and Akane slid their arms under Ranma's, and sat closer to him.  
  
"Training! I just remembered a secret technique! And I'm going to forget it if I don't teach it to you now!" With that, Genma tried to grab Ranma shirt and drag him out of the room.  
  
"No way, Pop!" With the reflexes of years of fighting his father, he turned the hold into a throw, putting his father into the pond just yards away.  
  
"Growlf!" The wet panda held up a sign, "Now you've done it! We're dead!"  
  
Ranma sighed. "That, Mom, is what he's hiding." Turning to Kasumi, "Could you please get some glasses of hot and cold water."  
  
With a smile, Kasumi turned around and placed a tray of three glasses of cold water and four small kettles of hot water on the table.  
  
Nodoka sat without moving, her eyes wide open, looking at the panda where her husband should have been.  
  
"Where's Genma?"  
  
"Mother, it's a long story. That stupid panda is Father." Ranma shifted his weight a little to get comfortable. "It all started when Pops and me were..." Whap!  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
The hit on Ranma's head was Nabiki's reminder about grammar. "Sorry Nabiki," he apologized. He restarted his tale, "When Pops and I were in Chimmmmf!"  
  
Genma grabbed his son and bounded out the door, over the fence, and down the street. It was a few seconds before a dust cloud arose in the distance that signified the fight between the father and son.  
  
Nodoka stood; ready to give chase and stop her family from fighting when Soun stopped. "Don't worry Nodoka, they'll be fine. When Ranma wants to win, there is nobody that can beat him. Not even his own father. He'll be back in a short while, and probably will be dragging Genma along with him."  
  
Nodoka looked at the man who is her husband's best friend. "You sure?"  
  
"Certainly. I know it's been a long time since you've seen him, but your husband and son are as tough as they come.  
  
"Now, please sit and enjoy the tea. Besides, there's much to talk about."  
  
As soon as they started talking, they saw Genma be thrown over the fence, and then manhandled by Ranma. Only when they were in the living room did Ranma let go of his father. Kasumi handed the elder Saotome a towel to dry off with.  
  
"Sorry about that, Mom. Sometimes he gets carried away."  
  
As soon as they settled down again, a crash was heard.  
  
"Nihao! Where husband!?" Shampoo came in through the engawa doors on her bicycle. "Ranma! You take Shampoo on date, no?" Shampoo wrapped her arms around Ranma, leaving him to struggle in her grasp.  
  
"Let go of me, Shampoo! You're embarrassing me in front of my mother!"  
  
Shampoo looked and saw Nodoka and suddenly let go of the pigged tail boy, dropping him to the floor. "Aiyaa! You Ranma's Mother?"  
  
Nodoka leaned over to Soun and whispered, "This is one of Ranma's fiancees?"  
  
Soun nodded.  
  
Nodoka was gracious and nodded, happy that Ranma has attracted such a beautiful young girl. "Yes."  
  
"I'm Shampoo. Ranma my husband. Grandmother will be so happy to meet you. She elder of tribe and has much to talk about."  
  
"Wife? Tribe?"  
  
"Yes. Amazon, from China. Very old."  
  
"I see." Nodoka adjusted her kimono slightly. "Ranma, care to explain?"  
  
Ranma sat down between Akane and Nabiki. "It's a long story. It all started out when Pops and I were in China. He had this book of legendary training grounds, and thought we should go to a place called 'Training Ground of Accursed Springs.'  
  
"Pops wasn't too bright. He never read the stupid book." With that, he picked up his father and heaved his father into the pond. "You see, if you ever land into one of the springs, you are cursed to become whatever drowned there."  
  
Genma came up from the water as a panda.  
  
"Pops fell into Spring of Drowned Panda."  
  
Genma rushed his son but Shampoo tripped him, causing him to knock himself out when he landed on edge of the table. Nodoka had a strange look on her face; it registered both confusion and horror.  
  
"Don't worry, Mom. Pops is all right." Taking the kettle from Kasumi's hand, he poured its contents on the slowly waking panda. "You see, cold water triggers the curse, and hot water reverses it."  
  
Nodoka looked at the tray in front of her, seeing two glasses of water and two small kettles. She took one glass of water and dumped it on her husband and watched him change into a panda. Smiling, she took one of the kettles, and poured it over his head, watching him turn back into a human.  
  
"Oh, this is so funny!" She took another glass of water and poured it over his head and started laughing when he changed once again. "This is so perfect!" Taking the remaining kettle, she poured it over her husband's head, and after he changed one last time, she started to dry his bald skull.  
  
"So, what does this have to do with Shampoo?"  
  
Genma tried to get up and flee the scene when Nabiki stuck her leg out and tripped him again. This time his chin hit the floor hard, dazing him.  
  
"Well, I was kind of distracted by this, and he attacked me. I, uh, fell in a spring myself." Ranma whispered the words, leaving no doubt that what was to come next was very distasteful to him.  
  
Sighing, he takes a glass of cold water from a new tray that Kasumi brought into the room, and dumped the contents on his head.  
  
"See? I fell into the pool of drowned girl." He then poured a kettle over his head.  
  
Nodoka looked at her son, daughter, and then son again, not making a sound. Her face became a mask, not giving a clue to anyone what she was thinking.  
  
Ranma continued his story. "Anyway, we were looking for a cure when we came to the Amazons. There was a feast on a table that was a contest prize, and Pops was hungry. So he proceeded to start eating. Naturally, the winner of the prize wasn't too happy."  
  
Shampoo pointed proudly at herself. "My prize. Me champion Amazon!"  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, to save our skins, I challenged Shampoo for the food. I won." Ranma didn't show any sign of gloating as he continued. "Shampoo gave me a kiss, and we, uh, were forced to leave the area.  
  
"After we left China, we came here. We settled down, and thought we were safe. Somehow Shampoo tracked us and followed us from China. The next thing I know is that I'm being hunted, she was out to kill me. When I beat her again, she gave me another kiss. Now she thinks we're married."  
  
Nodoka looked at her son and blinked. What she just heard confused her; it was beyond her sensibilities to comprehend.  
  
Seeing the confused look on Nodoka's face, Shampoo tried to clarify matters. "Amazon law says if outsider woman beat tribe warrior, warrior must give outsider Kiss of Death. Amazon law also says if outsider man beat tribe warrior, warrior must give outsider Kiss of Marriage."  
  
Nabiki attempted to further elaborate. "The Amazons are a matriarchal society. Their warriors are women, and the rules are eugenic in nature. By forcing the losing warrior to kill the winner, or dies in the attempt, the bloodlines are kept strong. Conversely, if the winner's a male, then the tribe wants the genes of the winner bred into the tribe with the hope of stronger and better warriors.  
  
"When Ranma defeated her the first time, he was the red-headed girl you saw earlier. The next time Ranma defeated Shampoo, he was the male you see today, and she gave him the Kiss of Marriage.  
  
"Am I making sense?"  
  
Nodoka slowly nodded her head. This story was rapidly becoming more than she could handle.  
  
"The Amazons know about the cursed springs, and when the Elder of the tribe learned that Ranma was a male, she revoked the Kiss of Death, as it doesn't apply to males." Nabiki knew she just told a white lie, but to tell the whole truth invited more problems.  
  
Nodoka reached for her sword and started feeling its handle. "Genma, am I to take it that you knocked my son into a spring that curses males to become female?"  
  
Genma was checking his mouth, making sure he hadn't lost any teeth the last time he hit the ground. When he heard his name called, he froze in place.  
  
"It's a martial artists duty to make sacrifices to become the best!"  
  
"You turned my son into a girl. You promised to make him a man among men! You do remember your promise, don't you?"  
  
Sweat began to bead on his forehead. "Promise? What promise?"  
  
Nodoka proffered a piece of paper to Genma. "This promise."  
  
Sweat was now pouring off Genma's forehead. After shoving his glasses back high on his nose, Genma took a deep breath and sat up straight.  
  
"Of course. That promise. I succeeded. Ranma never loses any fight he gets into."  
  
"He turns into a girl! Girls are not men!"  
  
Akane looks at Ranma, who was about to make some comment about "tomboys."  
  
"Just a price to pay as being a martial artist!"  
  
"You sacrificed his manhood!"  
  
"Only temporarily."  
  
"You failed."  
  
Nodoka's eyes bore into Genma and he felt his life slowly bleed from his slit belly. Sucking up what little courage he had, he tried to place the blame where he thought it should lie. "He failed. He's the one that turns into a girl!"  
  
By now everyone has had a chance to read the paper that Nodoka was wavering in front of Genma, and without exception, went into a state of shock.  
  
"Mrs. Saotome, you can't be serious, can you? Seppuku?" Akane attempted to be the voice of reason, but her voice creaked with fear for her sister's fiancee's life.  
  
"As a martial artists wife, I have to take honor seriously." She turned to face Genma, "I will take the role of Kaishaku."  
  
"May I take a look at the promise, Mrs. Saotome?" Nabiki was curious about the strange ink marks on the paper.  
  
"Here. It's quite correct, if you'll notice."  
  
Nabiki looked at the paper, and saw little handprints all over it. "What's all these?"  
  
"Oh, Genma had Ranma stamp the promise to show his agreement."  
  
"These are Ranma's?" Nabiki tried to suppress a comment about cuteness given the severity of the situation in front of her. "How old was he when he did this?"  
  
"Oh, three years old."  
  
Nabiki's eyes widened at the age. Knowing that Ranma could barely ink the kanji for "seppuku" today, she knew that Ranma could not have known what he pounded his handprint on. "So you are going to hold him to a promise he made when he was three years old? He probably couldn't even say 'seppuku', much less know what it means."  
  
"But Genma..." Nodoka was surprised by Nabiki's defense, for most of the time people deferred in her presence. She tried to continue, but Nabiki kept talking.  
  
"Genma would have promised you anything to get him out of the house for training. Do you really think he thought you'd take it seriously?" Nabiki watched for signs of Nodoka acquiescing, but suspected that the elder lady would be very good at hiding clues.  
  
Soun Tendo broke into the conversation. He knew that Ranma would commit seppuku if he was told to do so, and if he did so, it would be for the wrong reasons. "The girls have a point, Nodoka. To Ranma, that paper was nothing more than an exercise in finger painting."  
  
"Mrs. Saotome, should Ranma be held to a promise he couldn't have made?"  
  
Ranma's mother sat there, thinking about what everyone had said. Her memories were faded with age, but she did remember Ranma pounding on the paper with his ink stained hand.  
  
"But Genma made the promise."  
  
"And he succeeded." Kasumi's soft voice cut through the stress that permeated the room, and all eyes turned to find her eyes filling with tears.  
  
The three Tendo sisters and Shampoo went on to list instance upon instance of Ranma's insistence of his maleness, of Ranma's fighting prowess, and of Ranma's honor. When Ranma, his father, and Soun attempted to put in a word, they were hushed and were asked to leave, and when they objected, Nodoka allowed the blade of her sword to glisten in the light, causing fear and a rapid evacuation by the males.  
  
The most serious issue was the curse, and Nodoka asked many questions about how Ranma was affected, and whether or not he ever considered himself a girl. She was surprised to learn that although Ranma hated being a girl, he was not afraid to use his female form to his advantage. There were stories told of how Ranma would entrap Happosai by using his female form and of how Ranma would brazenly wrangle free food as a girl. When Nodoka heard some of the stories about Kuno and his attraction to the "pigged tailed girl", she laughed and remarked that Ranma was taking after her own youth.  
  
At one point Nodoka was interested in the mechanics of the curse, so water was poured on Genma to turn into a panda and back again several times. Nodoka learned that no amount of willpower could overcome its effects - cold water always triggered the effect one way, and hot water triggered the curse the other. The discussion turned philosophical, they supposed that perhaps the curse was a correction of some karmic extreme in the afflicted one's life.  
  
Then things turned emotional. One way or another, each of the girls admitted that Ranma changed their life. Near tears, Shampoo admitted that she was constantly surprised of his capability of forgiveness, and she sometimes felt unworthy of being his wife. Akane blushed when she said that she was proud of Ranma; not because he won fights, but rather because he speaks from the heart, and is very sincere in his good intentions. Nabiki was coy, teasing her listeners as she mentioned the person that she thought was a perverted dumb jock was actually a honorable, smart individual that forced her to plan harder to manipulate - something that was becoming more difficult with each passing day. Kasumi had a quiver to her voice when she blurted that Ranma was rapidly leaving his boyhood behind, and that he was maturing into very desirable young man. If Nodoka had known the story of how Akane became engaged to her son, she would have recognized Kasumi's quivering as a sign of the shame and embarrassment of not accepting the engagement when she had the opportunity.  
  
By the time it was dark, Nodoka had been presented with enough evidence to thoroughly convince her that not only her son was a man, but also that he has risen above every one of his father's mistakes. And for the second day in the row, she was convinced that each of the girls wanted Ranma for their very own.  
  
After the five of them had a chance to recover their composure, the males were allowed to return to the room. Genma and Ranma were wearing the white robes of Seppuku and had serious looks on their faces. After everyone was seated, Nodoka took her sword and moved to place on the ground in front of her.  
  
Whack!  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Nodoka had hit Genma on his head with the sheathed sword. Genma began rubbing a large lump on his head while his wife started to wrap the sword and sheath in the silk covering. Without taking an eye off her husband, in a clear voice it was made known that she was not pleased.  
  
"You idiot! You are coming home with me tonight, and you have a lot of talking to do. By the time I'm finished with you, you are going to wish I let you commit suicide!  
  
"Ranma!" When she saw her son stiffen at his name, she softened. "Ranma. I had already decided that I couldn't hold you to your promise made when you were three years old." She smiled, and then looked at the girls at the table. "And these four ladies told me far more than I think they intended. You have nothing to fear."  
  
With that, Genma followed Nodoka home that night and Ranma the next. And it was under a week when Shampoo, Kodachi and Ukyou managed to destroy the Saotome home, each trying to convince Nodoka that they were best suited to be Ranma's wife.  
  
With their home destroyed, the Saotome moved in with the Tendos, setting up temporary housekeeping in the Dojo. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
Nabiki was cursing her younger sister as she walked home. Earlier that morning Akane had found her beloved pet P-Chan, and wanted to pick him up. Unfortunately, Akane never realized that she was standing in wet cement as she petted her pet pig, and when Nabiki pointed out that her shoes were being ruined, Akane made things worse by trying to scrape the cement off her shoes on the not-yet-hardened curb.  
  
After apologizing and giving the cement workers the address of the Tendo home, the two sisters went in separate directions; Akane went home for a new pair of shoes while Nabiki headed to the bookstore for her manga and magazine fix.   
  
Taking note of a new travel agency in the neighborhood, she started to think of ways to turn Akane's cement episode into something profitable. As she waited for the walk light to change colors, she felt the presence of somebody behind her.  
  
"Nabiki Tendo?"  
  
Nabiki turned around and saw three men, one in his thirties, one about fifty or so, and one barely out of his teens. The two older men wore ill-fitting three-piece pinstripe suites, one black, the other blue. The younger man wore a stylish solid dark blue two-piece suit. The two older men were looking at a slip of paper while the younger man seemed to be more interested in fixing his tie.   
  
"Yeah, that's her. You're Nabiki Tendo, right? Come with us." The middle man in the black pinstripe suite pocketed the paper scrap and took his place to Nabiki's left.  
  
"Yeah. Da boss wants to do some business wid ya." The older man moved to Nabiki's right.  
  
Frightened, Nabiki bolted forward into the street and started to yell for help, but when she took her first step, she felt her foot trip on something and she fell forward. When she threw her arms forward to catch her fall, she felt her arms be held by the men next to her.  
  
"We not gonna hurtcha. We wanna do business with you." The older man smiled at her. There was something about the man that made Nabiki think of an oil-slick.  
  
Helping Nabiki to her feet, the other man concurred with his elder partner. "Da boss said he wanna buy something from ya."  
  
Curious about the monetary opportunity, Nabiki straightened the sleeves of her sweater, and asked, "What did your boss wish to purchase?"  
  
The third man, the young one, spoke for the first time. "Poppa said it was something that belonga to the family a longa time ago."  
  
The third man started to adjust the coat of the older man, and Nabiki watched the older man's expression change from a business like demeanor to irritation. After a few moments, Nabiki could almost hear the old man's teeth grind when the younger man started to get a ruler out and measure the outer seam of the black pin-stripe pants.   
  
"Knock it off, Tony! We-a supposed ta be workin'!"  
  
The young man, Tony, quickly made the ruler disappear and stood silently behind the blue pin stripped man.  
  
It was obvious that the three clowns really were to bring her to whoever the "boss" for some business. Thinking that the manga takes second place behind an opportunity to make money, she followed the three men to a restaurant a few blocks away.  
  
Inside, she was escorted to a red naugahyde booth with a red and white checkerboard tablecloth. A few moments later a large, heavyset man stood next to the lone chair at the end of the table and said something in Italian.  
  
"Nabiki Tendo? I'm Dominic Delucci. Welcome to my Poppa's restaurant." He held out his arms for a hug, and when Nabiki hesitated, he smiled and cocked his head, "I don'ta bite!"  
  
Thinking that it wasn't a good idea to be rude and upset a potential customer, Nabiki shyly hugged the man.  
  
After letting go, the man smiled again, and sat her down in the booth. "Thata wasn't so bad, no?"  
  
Nabiki couldn't help but smile. The man had an easy going manner and seemed very friendly.  
  
"No, I guess not."  
  
"Good! Now, where's that soupa?" Dominic leaned back in his chair and waved at somebody out of sight. In moments a waiter arrived at the table and placed a large bowl of minestrone soup in front of her and the fat man.  
  
"Eat up. It's good. We talka business now."  
  
Dominic placed a bib on his chest and started to spoon cheese into his soup. Nabiki picked up her spoon and tasted the soup. She found it a bit rich to her tastes, but was certainly edible.  
  
"Like I saida. This here is my Poppa's place. He came-a here to opena up a restaurante. Anna he came-a to finda family heirloom." The two of them took a few spoonfuls of soup.  
  
"A you buya chest, right?"  
  
Nabiki didn't answer.  
  
"No matta. I know dat you hadda the chest, and youa sold somma da stuff in it. It was my cousin Marco bought da uniform from ya."  
  
Nabiki stared at the man with a look of incredulity on her face. She sold the uniform to a nice Japanese collector of military items. "Marco" is not a Japanese name.  
  
Recognizing the look on Nabiki's face, he offered an explanation. "Biga family, but not all blood. But stilla family, if ya catcha my drift.  
  
"Any way, With that uniform, there wasa supposed to be a ring. You gotta da ring?"  
  
Nabiki ate the last bit of soup and after she swallowed, she place her spoon in the bowl. "What ring?"  
  
"Biga ring. So biga, it-a fitsa on my thumb. Gotta big blue stone in it. You'lla know it when ya see it."  
  
"Sorry, but there wasn't a ring anywhere near the uniform."  
  
The waiter arrived and took the empty bowls away, Dominic waved and spoke in rapid Italian to someone out of sight, then he turned and looked at Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki was uncomfortable. She was captured, being held in a restaurant that had no customers and a few burly workers setting tables and cleaning the floor. Dominic's staring at her made things worse.  
  
"The chesta hada crucifix, da uniform, a flaga, a buncha books and maybe hada Granpa's photobooka."  
  
Nabiki kept her face still when he correctly identified the contents of the chest. Hoping to keep Dominic unsure of who she was and what she had, she did not confirm the contents of the chest. Instead, she repeated her original statement. "I did not see a ring with the uniform."  
  
Dominic called to one of the workers and in a few minutes a telephone was brought to the table. "Calla home. Hava somebody looka at da chesta again."  
  
Two of the workers stood at the edge of the booth. Nabiki smiled and picked up the handset and dialed home. As she waited for someone to pick up the phone, she was trying to judge just how much she could sell the ring for, assuming the ring was in the chest. Given the efforts of Dominic thus far, it was obvious that he wanted the ring badly, and Nabiki knew that much desire meant she could charge a premium price.  
  
"Hello Kasumi. Yes, I know Akane made a mess of her shoes. Yes, I know we'll have to pay for the work to fix the cement. Is father upset? Oh, that's good. Kasumi, is Ranma there? Oh, he is? Could you put him on the phone? Thank you. Oh, no. I'm fine. I'm just having a nice lunch in this Italian restaurant. Oh, it's quite good. No, I didn't order everything on the menu. Okay, I'll wait." Nabiki shook her head, her sister had this uncanny ability of making any problem sound minor. In a few minutes, Ranma came on the phone.  
  
"Hello Ranma. Remember the old chest? The one that had the uniform in it? The proprietor of this restaurant believes that there is a ring in the chest. Can you look for me? Yes, I know the chest is empty. Just look anyway." Nabiki saw Dominic wave at her. "Wait a second, Ranma."  
  
"Tella him to lift up da bottom of da chest."  
  
"Lift the bottom of the chest?" Nabiki was confused.  
  
"Si. Sea chests hada false bottoms."   
  
Nabiki slapped her forehead. "Ranma, you there? Good. Dominic here says the bottom of the chest is probably a fake. So you have to lift it up, and you should see some things there. Yes, Ranma, look now. No, no! Don't hang..."  
  
Looking at Dominic, Nabiki placed the handset in the cradle and shrugged her shoulders. "He hung up. I'll call back in a minute."  
  
A few minutes later, Nabiki had called home again and was listening to Kasumi chat on about dinner plans and that she shouldn't eat so much. After promising Kasumi to leave room for dinner, the phone was handed to Ranma.  
  
"You found it? What does it look like? Big and blue? Wait a moment." Nabiki turned to Dominic.  
  
"Yep, he has the ring."  
  
***  
  
In the car, Nabiki and Dominic discuss pricing. Dominic offers ten thousand yen for the ring, Nabiki says she can't accept the offer without at least seeing the ring to put a price on it. Dominic says nothing and the two of them ride to the bridge in silence.  
  
When the car stopped at the bridge, Nabiki and Dominic stood at one end, and watched Ranma wait at the crosswalk. When Ranma crossed the street Nabiki started to walk across the bridge, but was restrained by Black Suit man.   
  
"What?"  
  
"Sorry. Business is business. I offered a ten thousand yen, anda you turna it down. I will hava that ring." Dominic called out to Ranma.  
  
"You gotta tha ring?"  
  
"Yeah!" Ranma started walking in the enclosed pedestrian path and waved. "Hi Nabiki!"  
  
Nabiki couldn't wave, as the two Black Suit man and Blue Suit man were holding her arms her side, but the did not gag her. "It's a trap!" she cried.  
  
Just as she yelled that, a truck rumbled past Ranma.  
  
Dominic, unaware that Nabiki just yelled a warning to Ranma, called out to the pig-tailed martial artist. "I hava deal for ya. Ya gimme da ring, and I'll leta her go."  
  
Nabiki could see Ranma's face darken. Judging by her captors, Ranma could take them down before they knew what happened. The problem was the distance between Ranma and her; as long as Ranma was out of reach, she was in danger, and she knew he was aware of his predicament.  
  
Just then, she felt something brush her leg, she looked down and saw Tony measuring Black Suit man's inseam. When Black Suit man let go of Nabiki to swat Tony away, she saw her opportunity and kicked Blue Suit man's foot.  
  
With the grip weakened on her arm she yanked hard and started running, calling for Ranma. To Ranma's credit, he dashed forward at top speed, and before she knew it, she was scooped into his arms and flying though the air. She could hear the cries of confusion beneath her, and when Ranma landed on the top of a near by building,   
  
  
  
In seconds, the building was surrounded by several black cars and men poured out of the open doors.   
  
"We're surrounded!" she cried.  
  
"Hang on!" Ranma picked up Nabiki again. Shutting her eyes and holding on to Ranma's neck for dear life, Nabiki felt the surges of power as Ranma leaped.   
  
After several leaps and a bit of running, Nabiki felt Ranma relax his grip on her, and gently put her feet on the ground. "You can let go now," his calm voice commanded.  
  
Nabiki opened her eyes and stood on Terra Firma. After letting go, she looked around and she saw that she was in a small alley. "We're safe?" she asked.  
  
"I think I lost them a few blocks ago."  
  
"Er, Ranma, there they are." Nabiki pointed to a group of cars passing by on the street. One car stopped and started to turn into the alley. The front doors opened, and out stepped the Black Suit man and Tony.   
  
"Hey! Dominic says he wantsa the ring." Black Suit man and Tony walked to the front of the car and stood next to the bumper. "Why don'tcha just give us the ring, and we'll be on our way."  
  
Nabiki and Ranma heard another car behind them. Turning around they saw Blue Suit man and two goon-ish looking men. Ranma looked at Nabiki, wondering what to do.   
  
As he reached into his pants, Nabiki stopped him. "No. Wait. Leave this to me." Turning to face Black Suit man and called out, "It's yours for a hundred thousand Yen."  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki then whispered in her ear, "It ain't worth that much."  
  
"It might be to them. Let's see what they say."  
  
Black Suit man looked as if he had been talking to Tony for a moment, and called back. "Just give us the ring and we won't charge ya for taking up so much of Dominic's valuable time."   
  
As Nabiki started to formulate a reply as she watched Tony pull out a several pins and started to roll up Black Suit's trousers when suddenly she felt Ranma pick her up and leap again. She put her arms around him and closed her eyes for another ride.  
  
After what she thought was a long time, she felt Ranma stop and stand still for a few minutes. Thinking things were safe, she opened her eyes and saw the neon signs of the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.  
  
"What are we doing here?" Nabiki let go of Ranma, who let her down.  
  
"They kept following me. Every time I thought I found a safe spot, some black car showed up."  
  
Nabiki looked at Ranma. He wasn't breathing hard or perspiring, but she knew this was taking a toll. "Come on. I know where we can get something to eat cheap here." The two of them walked into the crowded sidewalk, and looked at the business fronts. After walking three blocks, Nabiki pulled Ranma into a small café that was adorned with a large "Coca Cola" sign. After placing an order for two saimen noodle bowls, the two sat and rested.  
  
Leaning back in her chair, Nabiki considered the situation. The Italians were persistent in their chase, and that had two implications. First, Dominic really wanted to be the family leader. Why he wanted the position she didn't know, but if life was anything like television drama, it was possible that internal family rivalries may be involved. Second, they knew her family name, it was also very likely their house was being watched, and therefore not a safe location for them.  
  
The bowls arrived, and Ranma attacked his with abandon. Nabiki took a token mouthful and thought some more. On one hand, she could just give them the ring. This idea wasn't all that appealing, as she gained nothing new in the exchange. She could find who else wanted the ring and try to bring them into the picture. This idea had the best chance of gains, but also was the most dangerous and would take more time than she had at the moment.  
  
Ranma had finished his bowl and was eyeing her own bowl. Deciding she wasn't hungry, she offered Ranma hers and continued to think while he noisily wolfed down the noodles.   
  
The only other option she came up with was to sell the ring to an uninterested third party. That was the best idea thus far; there would be some revenue gain and there was a fair likelihood that the Italians would leave them alone once they realize that Ranma and she did not have the ring any longer.  
  
Looking out the window, she saw some large black cars on the street. "Ranma, I think they are here." Nabiki made a subtle gesture with her hands, "Look."  
  
Ranma held Nabiki's hand and he led her outside. "This way." Ranma pulled Nabiki towards an intersection crowded with people. When everyone moved, Ranma and Nabiki moved. When everyone stopped, Ranma and Nabiki halted. After walking about fifteen minutes with the crowd, Nabiki tugged on Ranma's shirt.  
  
"Huh? What's up, Nabiki?"  
  
Nabiki shook the hand that was being held by Ranma. "You're crushing my hand. Don't hold it so tight."  
  
Ranma looked down and saw that he was holding Nabiki's hand. Nabiki watched Ranma blush and the pressure on her hand relaxed to the point where she was holding his hand more than he was holding hers.  
  
"Hey, your mother thinks I'm your fiancee. It's all right for you hold my hand." Nabiki waited for Ranma to get nervous, and when he didn't, she stood close to him, letting their shoulders touch. "Come on, I have an idea."  
  
Nabiki led Ranma to an information booth, where she started looking at a listing of shops and services in the area. While she conversed with the Info Guide, she was aware that Ranma was becoming impatient. When she felt tapping on her shoulder, she turned to tell Ranma to stop interrupting.   
  
"Oh, shit." Surrounding the booth were several men, of which she recognized Dominic, Tony, Blue Suit man, Black Suit man, the waiter and the two goons from the restaurant. She also saw several other men, dressed in most of who were dressed in dark pin-stripe suites. They were surrounded, and given the placement of everyone, Ranma may not be able to jump or run his way through the mob.  
  
Nabiki looked at Ranma for comfort. She was confident that these men would not do anything in a public place such as the street, but she if they were in a secluded area there would be no telling what they would do. It would be best, she thought, to conclude everything here, on the street. That way there would be many witnesses to the transaction, and that hopefully repercussions would be minimized.  
  
"Your boyfriend," Dominic pointed to Ranma, "is good. But this is nota time for games. Handa ova the ring."  
  
"Give him the ring, Ranma. It isn't worth it." She could see that Ranma was stressing, ready to explode into a fight if anyone made a wrong move. As she watched Ranma slowly reach for the ring, she noted that Ranma's eyes were on Tony, who was behind her. Looking over her right shoulder, she saw that Tony had several dozen neckties, and was trying to get some of the men to try them on. She watched the man go from person to person, tying to get them to change ties.   
  
Ranma fumbled for the ring, watching Tony peddle the ties.  
  
"Will you knock it off?" Dominic pushed Tony aside, colliding with the Blue Suited man. This caused a domino effect, the Blue Suited man lost his balance, and leaned on the Black Suited man, who in turn tried to hold up both the Blue Suited man and Tony. When he lost his grip, he too started to fall, knocking over one of the waiters from the restaurant.  
  
Ranma saw his opportunity, grabbed Nabiki at her waist, and bolted the gap created by the fallen Italians. In seconds he left a cloud of dust and the Italians behind him.  
  
"Ranma! Stop! Stop!"   
  
Ranma stopped and put Nabiki down on her feet.  
  
"What?"  
  
Nabiki tried to stand up straight. Her back was hurting and her stomach felt like it was folded over. After the worst of the pain subsided, she looked at her fiancee in the eye. "You idiot! I'm not indestructible. That hurt!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She could see that Ranma had not an idea of what she was talking about. Holding back her tears, she hoped that Ranma wouldn't panic. Arching her back, she felt more of her muscles recover from Ranma's man-handling.   
  
Nabiki walked up to Ranma, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Ranma, I appreciate you carrying me out like that, but I'm not a suitcase. My belt is not a convenient handle to carry me around with. Next time, be more careful."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Nabiki was beginning to wonder just how tough was her younger sister. If this was a normal event for Akane, Nabiki then knew that she would have to start working out just to prevent herself from breaking.  
  
"Where are we?" Ranma's question put an end to Nabiki's musings.  
  
Nabiki took stock of her surroundings, noting that the two of them were on a sidewalk between a high white wall a very busy street. The wall stretched a good distance in both directions, and it looked like there were towers just behind the wall in the distance.  
  
"I think we're behind the Emperor's Palace. Come on, let's cross the street and see if we can find a sign or something." The map in Nabiki's mind was beginning to warp. There was no way that Ranma could have carried her from Nerima to Shinjuku, and then from Shinjuku to the Palace. It just wasn't possible.  
  
"Stopa right there!" An Italian accented voice boomed from a car that was stopping in front of them. As the door opened, Nabiki saw Domnic start to exit the car. Right behind him was Tony, this time holding several hats.   
  
"I'ma getting tired ofa this. Nowa handa over da ring!" Dominic's expression was tired and angry. Nabiki couldn't find fault with Dominic's attitude, Ranma has been giving him a tough chase, and Tony has foiled Dominic's plans multiple times so far.  
  
Nabiki moved closer to Ranma, standing behind him in case something happened. She put her hand on his back and discovered that his tense muscles were quivering in anticipation.  
  
"Hang on!" Ranma's arms swung behind her, and she felt his hands grab her butt. No sooner than she wrapped her arms around his neck she felt Ranma leap to the top of the white wall and felt him running. Looking back, she saw Tony taking a very large Fedora off of Dominic's head.  
  
For the first time that day, Nabiki kept her eyes open. She watched the street and the buildings whiz by in a blur. As Ranma ran, she wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to support herself.  
  
When she saw the red tower in front of her, she wondered what Ranma would do. The way the day had gone so far, it was conceivable that he would stop at the observation deck, but that would be impossible, wouldn't it?  
  
Nabiki blinked, and then felt a strange surge from Ranma. When her eyes opened, she was looking at the map of Tokyo from inside the observation deck of Tokyo Tower. She climbed off Ranma's back and looked around.   
  
"Impossible."  
  
Ranma looked at her with a silly grin. "What's impossible?"  
  
"You. How did we get here?" Nabiki stared peering out the windows. The deck was crowded with tourists, but it so crowded that she couldn't walk up to the rails.  
  
"I just ran and jumped on the elevator. Nothing to it." Ranma was scratching the back of head.  
  
It seemed to Nabiki that this wasn't anything new or special to Ranma. "You've done this before, haven't you?" Nabiki watched Ranma stand beside her and peer out the window.  
  
"Yeah. Sometimes it's easier to come here to loose people chasing me. Not always, but sometimes. Besides, I like the view."  
  
Nabiki couldn't argue about the scenery. The sky was blue with a few silver-white clouds, and visibility was as far as the horizon. She felt Ranma's hand on top of hers, and she turned to see his face looking at her. Feeling self conscious, she tried to straighten her hair with her free hand.  
  
"Come over here." Ranma had a gentle smile on his face, and she felt a little tug on her hand. She let herself be led to the opposite side, where the sun was just beginning to set. Nabiki leaned on the rail and felt Ranma standing behind her, still holding her hand. Silently they watched the sky and city change colors through the twilight.  
  
"Handa over the ring anda nobody gets hurt." Dominic's voice broke Nabiki's and Ranma's solitude.  
  
Turning around, Nabiki saw that the full Italian contingent had surrounded them. Ranma let go of her hand and took a step forward.   
  
"What is so damned important about that ring to chase me an' Nabiki all over Tokyo for?"  
  
"It's a badge of office, kind of lika crown. Da wearer is da boss ofa da family."   
  
Ranma fished in his pants for a moment and then showed the ring to everyone. "You mean if I put this ring on, I'm the boss?"  
  
"Nah. Ya gotta be a family member ta be da boss." Tony was a Ranma's side when he answered, and had a tape measurer in his hands.  
  
Ranma looked at Tony and then at the Italian mob in front of him.  
  
Nabiki could have heard a thought pop into Ranma's mind. She watched Ranma move suddenly, one hand grabbed Tony's wrist and the other hand twisted his hand. Just as fast, Ranma quickly stepped away from Tony.  
  
"Eeeee-Yow!" Tony was holding his hand up, and everyone saw the ring on his hand.  
  
Ranma snorted at the man's pain. "Wuss. That didn't hurt."  
  
Tony looked at Ranma with surprise on his face, "It didn't hurt; you surprised me, thata all." Then he realized he had the ring on his thumb. "Whadya do this for?" Tony tried to take the ring off, but it was lodged beneath his knuckle.  
  
"I don't wanna this ringa. I don't wanna hava restaurante. I wanna be a tailor like Uncle Claudio!" Tony started crying.  
  
"Is there a rule saying that the boss has to have a restaurant?" Nabiki asked.  
  
Dominic started to sweat. Black Suit man and Blue Suit man had huge smiles on their faces, and from them came the chorus, "No!"  
  
Tony continued to cry and started to wail, "Don't wanna cook! Don't wanna wait tables! I hate Italian food!"  
  
Nabiki walked over to Tony and slapped him in the face and yelled in his ear, "You DON'T HAVE TO OWN A RESTAURANT!"  
  
Tony stopped crying for a moment, and between sobs he croaked, "I don't?"  
  
Just then, Black Suit man and Blue Suit man were standing next to Tony, and warmly said, "Nah. You da Boss. You can do anything."  
  
Tony smiled. "I can?" He looked at his father for a moment, then at Ranma and Nabiki. He stood still for a few moments, playing with his measuring tape, deep in thought.  
  
Nabiki watched Tony's expression change occasionally. It was obvious to her that Tony was a little out of his element, and was concerned that he may do something rash.   
  
Finally, Tony spoke again. Pointing at Ranma and Nabiki, he waved at Black Suit man. "Frankie, taka these two down to da bottom anda wait." Tony turned to face his father, who was turning red in the face, then the turned back again to face Frankie. "Oh, anda getta their address, I'ma gonna takea them home."  
  
Ranma looked at Nabiki and then to Frankie. Not wanting to push whatever good graces they found themselves in too far, the couple quickly made their way to the elevator with Frankie in tow.  
  
In the elevator, Nabiki leaned against Ranma. "Is it over?"  
  
Frankie responded. "I thinka so. You twoa gave-a us a good chase."  
  
"What's going to happen now?" Nabiki pulled Ranma's arms around her. She felt Ranma become tense for a moment, but then he relaxed and actually held her.  
  
"Family business, I guess, is gonna change."  
  
Nabiki noted that Frankie had a worried look on his face, and actually felt a little sorry for the old man. Running a restaurant was probably the only thing he knew how to do, and perhaps chase people.  
  
Once on the ground, Frankie led Ranma and Nabiki to a garage where several black cars were parked. He opened a back door to the largest one, and motioned that Ranma and Nabiki should enter. Inside the car, Nabiki told Frankie how to get home, and then the three of them rehashed the day and shared a few laughs, mostly at Dominic's and Tony's expense.   
  
It wasn't long before Tony, Dominic and the rest of the Italians arrived. Dominic had a slight frown on his face, but he didn't look as upset when they left the Tower. Nabiki watched Tony wave to a few people and then opened the front passenger door and get into the car.  
  
Turning around after putting his seat belt on, he smiled at Ranma and Nabiki. "I must thank you. I don't know how to thank you, but I will find a way.  
  
Does Frankie know howa to get you home?"  
  
Nabiki nodded and the car was on its way to the Tendo compound. Conversation between the four occupants of the car flowed freely, and only occasionally did Nabiki or Ranma would have to directions. The four stopped by a Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, where Frankie and Tony were amazed by Ranma's ability to eat two buckets of spicy chicken by himself in under five minutes. After eating, Nabiki called the house and told them that Ranma and she just had supper and would be home in about an hour.  
  
Finally the couple was standing at the gate of the Tendo compound, Tony and Frankie had both bowed and apologized one more time before Tony handed Ranma an envelope.   
  
"This is only a parta my apology. I'll senda more later when I putta it all together." Tony had a genuine smile on his face. He watched Ranma hand the envelope to Nabiki.   
  
"Ifa you don't minda me asking, whata is the relationship?"  
  
Ranma answered first, "She's my business partner."  
  
Tony smiled when he saw Nabiki wrap her fingers around Ranma's hand. As he entered his car, he looked back at Ranma and called out, "Take-a care ofa her. Ya got somethin' good there." 


	14. Chapter 14

Soun and Genma were standing in the kitchen, trying to fix the water heater when Kasumi came in with the mail.  
  
"Here, Uncle Genma. You have a letter from the Hall of Records," Kasumi said as she put the large formal looking envelope next to Genma's hands.  
  
Genma put the pipe that was in his hands down and opened the missive. As he read, his eyes widened and his mouth opened wide.  
  
"Oh joyous day! I'm so proud of my son!" Genma shouted as he started to dance a little jig.  
  
"What is it, Saotome?"  
  
"Ranma. He did it! He got married!"  
  
"Married?"  
  
"Yes! Look!"  
  
Soun took the letter from Genma's hands and read. "Hmm. It says, 'Mr. Saotome, Congratulations on your son's recent marriage! This is an important step in being a responsible member of your community. Blah, blah, blah.' It looks like a form letter to me. Let me see what else it says." A few moments later he spoke again; "I can't believe this. It says, 'We regret that we cannot find any records of the marriage, as they were probably destroyed when a gas main exploded beneath our previous office. Thankfully the tax department forwarded some basic information on your son's status change so we can start rebuilding our records. If you and the father of the bride could please come down to our new office, we can issue a formal marriage certificate for them.'"  
  
Soun broke out in a huge smile and tears were forming in his eyes. Genma saw the emotion building in his friend's face and gently took the paper from his hands, making sure it was safe from any mishaps.  
  
Tears began to pour from Soun's eyes as he said, "Ranma married my baby girl! This is such a wonderful day!"  
  
Genma started to start his celebration anew when he looked at the letter again. Something bothered him, something was missing, as he scoured the letter, he noticed what was wrong. He grabbed Tendo's shoulders and shook the man as he shouted.  
  
"Tendo! Who did Ranma marry?"  
  
Soun stopped crying and looked at the bald man in front of him. "Oh, Akane, of course!"  
  
"You sure of that?"  
  
"Of course, I read the letter."  
  
"The letter doesn't say who Ranma married."  
  
"It doesn't?"  
  
"No. Look for yourself," Genma said as he handed the paper back to Soun.  
  
Soun "hmm'ed" and "ahh'ed" as he read the letter once again. After a moment, he agreed, "It appears you are correct."  
  
"First, we must perform our parental duties, and sign the wedding papers. Then we must find who he married and arrange a proper ceremony and reception! It looks like its time for..."  
  
The elder men looked at each other and with happy grins, they both yelled, "Operation Another Happy Day!"  
  
"Ranma, my boy! You tried to keep it a secret! We knew you would honor the agreement! I am so proud of you! Congratulations!"  
  
"Well, son!" Soun started crying, "I can call him 'son'!" What started with just a few tears quickly turned into a torrent.  
  
Ranma blinked and looked at the two inebriated fathers with a suspicious eye. After going, "huh," he found himself being led into the dojo, where he saw a table, several pillows on the floor, and three cups plus a few large bottles of sake sitting on the table, and in the corner was a box with what looked like to be many empty bottles of sake. It was just too obvious that the two fathers were up to something; being called 'son' by Soun set off warning alarms in Ranma's mind.  
  
Knowing that he had to follow his father's lead, Ranma sat on a pillow and held out his cup for his father to fill. Once his cup was filled, the two fathers looked at each other and shouted "Cheers!" and took their first sip. Ranma, however, sat there with his cup in his hand, staring at his father.  
  
"Drink up, boy! You're a man now!" shouted an exuberant Genma.  
  
Ranma looked at the cup and took a very small sip. The vile liquid dried his tongue and evaporated in his mouth before he could swallow. Ranma silently thanked Akane for cooking for him; if it weren't for her food, he would not have been able to keep a straight face when the sake touched his lips.  
  
Soun, having his first cup of sake in him, had settled down and composed himself. After having Genma refill his cup, and refilling Genma's", he addressed boy sitting next to him.  
  
"Now, Ranma," Soun said with a serious intonation, "we have made a discovery today that made us very proud. We won't ask your reasons why, but we must know, you understand, who you married."  
  
Ranma tried to figure out how the concept of marriage popped his host's mind. He and Nabiki were close friends, and were growing to something more than friends, but neither of them was ready to get married. Thanks to the little business the two of them had, discussions and issues about finances were minimized. In fact, Ranma couldn't think of when he and Nabiki ever really discussed marriage beyond the engagement. "Married?" Ranma calmly said, "I ain't married."  
  
"Ranma, son, our," Genma paused and pressed his glasses back up his nose before continuing, "your future depends on who you married. And we are here to help you with your future. Trust us. We have your best interests at heart.  
  
"So, tell us, who did you marry?"  
  
Ranma put his still-full cup down and readied himself. His father was being pushy again, and that meant that a fight was going to start brewing. He rejected his father's claim, "I ain't married, Pops. I don't know what you guys have been drinkin', but I ain't married."  
  
"Oh, come now. Don't be shy. We know you couldn't wait and married Akane. We can see it in her eyes!"  
  
Ranma struggled to keep from lashing out at his father as he backed up from the sake bottle and yelled, "I didn't marry Akane! Get off it, Pops!"  
  
Genma started to shout something about having proof that Ranma was married when Ranma heard Kasumi's voice call for him through the open dojo door. "Oh, god, Kasumi," he thought, "you are a life saver!"  
  
Ranma stood up and started to back away from the table, excusing himself with, "Sorry, Pops! Kasumi's callin' me!"  
  
Ranma didn't bother to see the reaction of the two old men as he happily dashed to the house from where Kasumi called him.  
  
Back in the dojo, Soun's eyebrows arched to a strange position as he watched Ranma leave. Ranma's sudden exit was not planned for, and it was because Kasumi had called him. But why would Kasumi call him? Maybe it was because she needed his help with something, perhaps she was trying a new recipe and she wanted him to taste it. Nah, that couldn't be it, she's too good to need his help. But he has been spending a lot of time with her.  
  
Soun's thought process took just about a second before he muttered, "What she wanted."  
  
"Who wanted?" asked Genma, who was angry with Ranma leaving without telling who he was married to.  
  
"Kasumi," Soun said, "Kasumi's married to Ranma!" Old-man Tendo finally put the pieces together. "Kasumi and Ranma are married! That's why Ranma runs home after school everyday! It's the only time they can be together alone!"  
  
Without regard to his friend, Soun, deliriously happy, ran to the house and straight to the kitchen where he was sure to find the blissful newlyweds. "Oh, how wonderful" he thought, "she found someone to take care of, and better yet, she never has to leave!"  
  
As Soun turned into the kitchen he saw Kasumi hesitantly pull away from Ranma, retracting her hands from his face. Soun's last near-coherent thought before starting to cry was, "Oh, my! They just kissed!"  
  
As the tears started to pour down his cheeks, he spoke to his daughter and new son, "I'm so happy for the two of you!" After wiping his nose, he continued, "Ranma, son! I should have known that it would have taken a wonderful person like Kasumi to win you over!"  
  
The younger occupants of the room stared at the old man and watched Genma arrive.  
  
"That's what I was tryin' to tell ya, Kasumi. They somehow seem ta think that I'm married. First Akane, now it's you," Ranma said as he wiped his face dry with his sleeve.  
  
Kasumi wiped her hands on her apron and watched her father with concern and disappointment in her voice, "Oh, my. You seem to be right. Well, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be happy with whoever the lucky girl is."  
  
Ranma gently touched Kasumi's hand, and said quietly, "Those idiots think we're married to each other."  
  
Kasumi's voice reflected happiness again, "Oh. That's good," she said.  
  
Ranma blinked at Kasumi's comment and sudden happiness. When Soun started blabbering again and as his father was about to give Kasumi a congratulatory hug, Ranma protested again with a little anger in his voice, "I ain't married. And I am not married to Kasumi!"  
  
The sole female in the room looked at Ranma with a hurt look on her face. "Ranma," she simply said.  
  
Ranma did not miss the feelings Kasumi layered in the statement as he started to panic. Expectedly, he said the first thing that came to his mind, "No, no, no! Don't get upset!" Ranma started to hold Kasumi's hands, "I'd marry ya if I weren't engaged to half a dozen other girls! Really!"  
  
Kasumi smiled at Ranma, his careless comment was exactly she needed. After giving Ranma a playful wink, she effortlessly sidestepped Genma's clumsy attempt at giving a hug and walked to her bawling father. Putting her arms around his shoulders, she led him to the sink where the tears swirled down the drain.  
  
Still holding him up, she tried to calm her father, "Please calm down. Ranma and I aren't married."  
  
As she quietly talked to him, she heard a soft thump behind her. Turning around, she saw Ranma's foot in his father's face. Stifling a smile, she continued her quiet talk with her father.  
  
"But I saw the two of you kissing when I came in," Soun said as he tried to stop crying.  
  
The thought of she and Ranma kissing made her blush slightly, but she kept control of herself. "No," she said, "Ranma had something in his eye and I was looking to see if I could help him. Nothing happened, Father."  
  
"Well, in that case," Soun's eyes miraculously dried up, "I guess I still have a mystery to solve."  
  
Kasumi watched Soun look at the walls for a moment before slightly nodding his head as he mumbled, "I'm sorry for making such a wrong assumption."  
  
Happily, Kasumi let her father know that nothing was harmed, "It's all right, Father. Things turned out well, didn't it?"  
  
"Yes." Soun turned around and staggered out of the kitchen, indicating to Genma to follow him outside.  
  
When the fathers were out of the room, Kasumi looked at Ranma, wondering what was to happen next. Ranma's comment about marrying her was amusing; her experience with Ranma was such that she felt that if she pressed the issue, he'd honor what he'd just said.  
  
Ranma's voice interrupted the silence, and it was obvious that he was asking the same questions, "So, uh, Kasumi, are we engaged?"  
  
Kasumi wasn't sure what Ranma was thinking, so she played it safe. She touched Ranmas' hand and slid her arm under his. Arm in arm, the two of them leaned against the stove. Holding her voice steady, but friendly, she said, "No, Ranma, we're not."  
  
Kasumi saw the telltale signs of nervousness disappear in Ranma. He was light on his feet and his hands look as if they were ready to strike quickly, and now he's relaxed with both feet still and steady on the ground. His voice proved his emotional state by asking "you're not upset, are ya?"  
  
Kasumi couldn't help but smile; Ranma was possibly the most insecure and socially inept person she knew, but he did care about his friends and family. For the first three or so months he was at the Tendo's, Ranma was self centered and rude. The efforts that she and her sisters have been putting forth in training him had wrought some interesting changes. The question that Ranma just asked was one such change; he had learned how to be genuinely concerned about the feelings of Kasumi, Nabiki, and to a lesser extent, Akane.  
  
"Kasumi?" Ranma interrupted her train of thought.  
  
"I'm all right, Ranma. I was just trying to think why they would think we were married."  
  
"What?" came Nabiki's voice from the kitchen entrance. Her voice had a cold tone to it.  
  
"Father and Uncle Genma seemed to think that Ranma was married to one of us already."  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"I ain't married!"  
  
"Good." Nabiki had the start of a small smile cross her face as she entered the kitchen. As she started looking in the refrigerator, she asked what happened and Ranma began his tale with his return from school and being cornered by the old men and the sake in the dojo and continued through the events in the kitchen. Occasionally Nabiki would ask for clarification, but she kept quiet through Ranma's story while she munched on the apple she found.  
  
At the end, Nabiki was worried about the assumption the fathers made. They would not think that Ranma was married unless something or someone told them Ranma was married.  
  
"Ranma," she asked, "have you seen anything that would give them think you were married?"  
  
"Nope. As soon as I got home they dragged me into the dojo."  
  
"Ranma, why don't you go there and see if you can find something while Kasumi and I look around here for clues."  
  
Ranma was disappointed that Nabiki didn't have a solution for the current predicament. Glumly, he muttered, "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
***  
  
As Ranma entered the dojo he saw Akane standing by the table that the fathers had set up. She was quivering as she held a piece of paper in her hands.  
  
"Who, just tell me, who did you marry?!"  
  
"I didn't marry nobody!"  
  
"Then what is this all about!" Akane shoved the paper in Ranma's chest before sitting on the floor with a loud "thump."  
  
Ranma started read the letter aloud, and when he reached the part about being married he stopped in silence.  
  
"It's gotta be a joke."  
  
"Nope. Look at the address and the seal on the bottom. It's real."  
  
"It can't be right. No way. I am not married. Maybe it went to the wrong place." Ranma looked at the letter again. "Yeah, that's it. Saotome is a common name. It should have gone to some other guy!"  
  
Akane looked suspiciously at Ranma and stood up. Grabbing her school bags, she walked out the dojo door, indicating to Ranma that he was to follow her.  
  
Akane found her sisters finishing off the last of a plate of cookies in the tearoom. Off in the corner she saw the two fathers snoring.  
  
"Akane, you didn't announce yourself when you came in," Kasumi chided her youngest sister.  
  
"Sorry. Something was on my mind. Here, look at this." Akane tore the letter from Ranma's hand and gave it to Kasumi.  
  
Kasumi started reading the paper and let lose a quiet, "oh, my" before handing the letter to Nabiki.  
  
"Well," Nabiki commented as she finished reading the letter and placed it on the table, "that explains everything." Nabiki squinted her eyes as if she was trying to stave off a headache before she muttered, "This could be a problem."  
  
Akane watched Nabiki's face harden in frustration. "Perhaps there was a clue in the letter that she missed," Akane thought, so she picked up the letter and read it again.  
  
She studiously followed each section, often voicing parts aloud as if to engrave details into her brain. Suddenly she blurted, "Tax department? What tax department?"  
  
Nabiki stopped rubbing the bridge of her nose and looked at Akane. "What did you say?"  
  
"Here," Akane handed the paper to Nabiki and indicated the part about a notification from the tax department to the civil service records desk of the new marriage.  
  
Nabiki looked at the letter again and went white. She asked if anyone knew the day that the Hall burned down. Akane thought it was about three weeks ago. Eyes wide open and as panic settled on Nabiki's face, she quickly went to her desk and checked the bankbooks she held for her and Ranma. A quick scan of her book showed a zero balance and a close note. Her hands shaking, she looked at Ranma's book, and it said "Ranma and Nabiki Saotome" with a large opening balance that represented the total of what should have been two separate accounts.  
  
The room went into a spin and then started to darken.  
  
Nabiki quickly grabbed the side of the desk and took a deep breath of air. She tried to remember what she learned in school. Aside from the religious and social functions that one goes through, there were legal and financial duties that had to be attended to as well. One of which is to set up a household account that is reported to the government after the marriage is recorded.  
  
If the bank reported the joint account, and if the reporting took place on the same day that the Hall burned down, then it was possible that the government would try to recover everything that transpired at the now- burned-office by using other methods.  
  
Nabiki took a deep breath and sat in her chair as she tried to imagine the tendrils of the marriage worked itself into the government records. Taxes probably lead to insurance records, which probably lead to the educational system.  
  
The potential headache that started downstairs was rapidly becoming a migraine.  
  
Nabiki tried not to think about what people might say about her being married to Ranma. She hoped that the system was slow and inefficient for that would save her and Ranma from having to answer many embarrassing questions.  
  
Nabiki stared out the window and thought about what her father would say when he found out that she is the Mrs. Saotome mentioned in the letter. Slumping in the chair, Nabiki mused that the fathers would never let her and Ranma get divorced.  
  
Nabiki slammed her hands on the desk and shouted, "This is not the way it's supposed to be!"  
  
"What's not the way is supposed to be?"  
  
Nabiki turned around to see Ranma sitting on the floor behind her and Akane and Kasumi standing next to her bed. Nabiki tossed the bankbook to Ranma.  
  
"Look at this."  
  
Everyone watched Ranma open the book to the third page.  
  
"Huh? There's no money in this account?" Ranma turned back the first page and saw the "Closed" stamp. "Wha?"  
  
Nabiki flung the second bankbook at Ranma at high speed, which was easily caught. "Now look at this one."  
  
Again, Ranma turned to the third page and his eyes bulged. "Wow! That's a lot of money!"  
  
Akane perked up, "Money? We have money?"  
  
Nabiki squirmed in her seat and ignored her sister. "Turn to the first page and read it so everyone can hear it."  
  
Ranma did as she asked and started reading, "Let's see. Account type is joint family. Then it sa..." Ranma stopped in mid-sentence.  
  
"Go on, Ranma. Read it."  
  
Ranma started to sweat, "Account holders...Ranma and Nabiki Saotome." He dropped the bankbook on the floor.  
  
"Oh, my."  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"We gotta do somethin' before Pops find out."  
  
"That's right, Mister Obvious."  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
Ranma looked at Akane, who was holding her hands in tight fists, and asked, "what?"  
  
"You idiot! How could you do this?" It was obvious to everyone that Akane was trying very hard not to hit her fiancee.  
  
"Hey, I didn't do this! This has got to be a mix up! Right, Nabiki?"  
  
Nabiki was out of her chair and walking towards Akane when Ranma asked for help. Positioning herself between Ranma and her sister, Nabiki spoke in a low tone, "This whole thing is one massive mistake. You will not hit Ranma. You will not say a word of this to anyone. If you do, then I will make your life miserable."  
  
The two sisters stared at each other for several minutes without moving a muscle or saying a word. Ranma and Kasumi watched the duel of wills, both knowing that Akane would give in.  
  
Finally Akane relaxed, and stepped aside. She acknowledged her defeat with, "Okay."  
  
Nabiki held out her hand to Ranma, and indicated that he should get to his feet. "We have to get this fixed as soon as we can."  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
"First we start at the bank and find out why they think we are married and get the accounts straightened. Then we'll have to get up early tomorrow and go to the city hall and do what we can there."  
  
It was Kasumi's time to ask about the bank accounts, "Why do you have to go the bank?"  
  
"Don't ask. This is between Ranma and me." Nabiki tried to cut off any questions about the now joint account.  
  
Kasumi continued asking questions, "why would you and Ranma have a joint account? You aren't married -- or are you?"  
  
Nabiki walked to the door and shut it before answering. "You know how Ranma and I have been selling things, right?" She waited for her older sister to give an affirmative answer then she continued, "well, we kind of got lucky and found some things that were worth a lot of money. Ranma and I split the profits from some of the stuff we sold."  
  
"You embezzled from the family?" Akane charged.  
  
Nabiki became defensive, "No, not really." She sat down at her desk and pulled out another bankbook from a drawer. "When I said 'a lot of money', I meant 'a lot of money.'" Nabiki opened the book to the right page and handed the book to Kasumi. "That book is the family savings, which does not include the money we've saved for next year's vacation."  
  
Nabiki reached into the desk again and pulled out another bankbook, opened it, and handed it to Akane. Kasumi peered over her shoulder as they both looked at the numbers.  
  
A stereophonic "oh, my" was heard in the room.  
  
"Because we were doing all the work, I thought that we should enjoy some of what we earned. So Ranma and I had our own accounts at the bank as well."  
  
Akane looked up with a questioning look in her eyes as her hands fondled the bankbook. "How much do you have?" she asked.  
  
"Right now, nothing. It's in that account," Nabiki said as she pointed to the book in Ranma's hands.  
  
"Is it a lot?"  
  
Ranma looked at the bankbook and nodded his head. He saw Nabiki hold out her hand out, so he handed the book back to her. "Yeah, it's a lot."  
  
Kasumi finally broke in, "How much?"  
  
Nabiki stopped Ranma from responding, "Sis, this is between Ranma and me. It is large enough for the bank and the government to think we are married. It is large enough to attract attention. If our fathers found out, we would never see it again."  
  
Nabiki studied the faces of Kasumi and Akane. This was a touchy subject and could cause some friction in the family. She eased her voice a little, "Ranma and I went though some interesting things for this money. Please don't worry. If we start to have money problems again, I promise that Ranma and I will do what we can to ensure that everything turns out okay.  
  
"But, please. This is Ranma's and my secret. Please don't tell anyone. Especially our fathers."  
  
Nabiki saw that Akane and Kasumi relax and nod their heads in understanding. "Thank you," she quietly intoned.  
  
In the moment of quiet, Nabiki looked at the clock on her nightstand. "Come on, Ranma. We have to get to the bank before they close."  
  
***  
  
Nabiki and Ranma were sitting in the office of the branch assistant manager. They had already explained the situation to a teller, who quickly passed the problem off an older woman who in turn, brought in the assistant manager. The manager was outside of his office talking to the teller that they first spoke to. When the two youngsters began to shuffle in their uncomfortable but stylish chairs the assistant manager came back in with a folder.  
  
"Well," the manager started as he reviewed the papers in the folder, "it seems I owe you both an apology. We have erred. If you would look here," he pulled out a form and placed it on his desk facing Nabiki and Ranma. He explained the form as he pointed to a series of check boxes on the form, "here is where the problem occurred. When we filled out this form, we mis- read which box went with the label. This was a new form, and it has proved to be confusing to those that use it for the first time. We have already replaced this form with a new one," the manager pulled another form from a sheaf on his desk and placed it along side the first paper. "You'll see that we have enclosed each question and the possible answers in cells and eliminated the vertical headings.  
  
"As you can see, the checkbox for your marital status is marked as 'newly wed', but should be marked as 'single.' And note the next box, it is for length of marriage. If we move all the check boxes over by one, as it should have been, you both would have been flagged as 'single'.  
  
"Please accept my apologies. We will immediately open two new accounts, one for each of you with the amounts that you indicated."  
  
After Ranma and Nabiki accepted the apologies, the man started working at his terminal, creating the necessary accounts and moving the monies from the single joint account to the two new ones. After about fifteen minutes and several stamps later, Ranma and Nabiki left the office with two new bankbooks, a letter of apology and a note for the government about the mistake.  
  
***  
  
The next day, the two went to the city hall to change their marital status. After a couple of false starts, they found themselves in the wedding license line.  
  
Finally talking to someone, they explained their situation. The clerk became overwhelmed and brought his manager, Mr. Kunimoto, to the desk. Nabiki and Ranma told their story again and showed the manager the letters from the bank and the letter they received at the house the previous day. The manager then excused himself, and took the clerk with him to another part of the room.  
  
Ranma and Nabiki watched the two discuss something in the distance for a few minutes, and then watch the two of them talk to an older man for moment. The manager and the clerk went behind door.  
  
Nabiki and Ranma waited patiently at the clerk's desk, and after what seemed to be a quarter hour, the old man came up to the two and greeted them.  
  
"Hello, I'm Ichi Ichi, the senior clerk of this office. I heard about your problem a few minutes ago and I can help you."  
  
Ranma's eyes lit up with hope, for he was tired of waiting.  
  
Ichi Ichi continued as he sat in the chair behind the desk, "This is an unfortunate circumstance, is it not? You live your life for several weeks, thinking everything was right with the world and then your parents get that strange letter."  
  
"Yeah. It took us by surprise."  
  
"As well it should. This should have never happened." Ichi Ichi thumbed through a stack of forms and pulled one out. "May I see the letter you received?"  
  
Nabiki pulled the letter out of her own manila folder and handed it to the old man. He read it, then started filling in fields on some form as he talked to the two. "This will take a few weeks to process. I will need to pass this through the tax department that notified us, and then find out who else they told." He stopped and looked at the two teenagers in front of him and asked, "You two are still in school, yes?"  
  
Ranma nodded his head and Nabiki said "yes."  
  
"I thought so. I'll run a copy of this to the education department as well." Ichi Ichi stopped printing and studied the form before placing it in front of Nabiki and Ranma. Pointing to several locations on the form, he indicated where he needed to have them fill in the boxes and where to stamp the document at the bottom.  
  
Nabiki looked the form over and noted that there were several other sections left blank. "Excuse me, Mr. Ichi Ichi, but it seems that there are several areas that still need to be filled in."  
  
"Ah. Yes, you are quite correct. I don't have access to those sections at this desk. I will fill them in later after I speak to the manager."  
  
Nabiki filled in the places where he indicated, stamped it, and then handed the document to Ranma, who stamped it.  
  
"Very good," Ichi Ichi said took the form from Ranma and made sure that everything was correct. "Please wait here for Mr. Kunimoto to return. I'm sure he will be back in just a few minutes."  
  
Ichi Ichi bowed quickly to Ranma and Nabiki and left the room.  
  
"Is that it?" Ranma asked. "I thought it was going to be a lot harder."  
  
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders, "Me, too."  
  
Mr. Kunimoto came to the desk and sat across from them. "I have to apologize. This is a most confusing situation, and will take some time to rectify." He started to rife through the same stack of forms that Ichi Ichi did a short while previously. "That's odd. I thought this set was complete." He started to get up when Ranma spoke, "Well, Mr. Ichi Ichi was here a little while ago and pulled some form out of it and filled it in and we stamped it."  
  
Mr. Kunimoto eyebrows raised a moment. "Ichi Ichi is our senior clerk, so I guess he would know what to do." He sighed, "I guess he already left with the forms?"  
  
Nabiki indicated the side door that she saw him leave, "He went out that door."  
  
Mr. Kunimoto smiled, "Then I think everything is taken care of. We will be sending a letter of confirmation, hopefully in a few weeks when things are cleared up." His face became serious, and said, "but I must warn you. Government is big, and it may take a couple of months before everything is correct. Not everything is on computers yet," he waved his arms to show the office, which still had a few typewriters, "as you can see."  
  
Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other with worried looks on their faces.  
  
"Fear not. If Ichi Ichi said he will pass this through, he will."  
  
Nabiki and Ranma stood and thanked the man as they shook his hands. 


	15. Chapter 15

The classroom had just filled, and an unkempt old man with green glasses and yellow bow tie took his position just behind a large barren desk. Looking up at the class, took a deep breath and croaked loudly, "Saotome, please approach my desk."  
  
As he watched Ranma rise from what was soon to be a slumber, he pulled a small envelope out from his pocket. "Go to the Vice Principal's office right now," he wheezed as he handed Ranma a hall pass and the envelope.  
  
When he was certain that Ranma was on the way to the office, he smiled a crooked grin at the students in the classroom and bade them farewell as he picked up his suitcase and bolted out the door.  
  
***  
  
Ranma bounded the last flight of stairs just before the principal's office and ran into the Kuno scion.  
  
"Hold there, fair student! I wish to have a word with thee!"  
  
"Move it Kuno. I gotta see what the old man wants."  
  
The young Kendoist reached into his robes and pulled out a large envelope and formally presented it to Ranma. With a wry smile on his face, "As much as it pains me to say, I do not know if I should offer you my congratulations or sympathy."  
  
Ranma took the envelope with care. "What's this all about, Kuno?"  
  
"You did not think you could keep this a secret, do you, my future Brother- in-law?"  
  
"Hey! I'm not marrying your sister!"  
  
"Of course not! Why would you, especially since you're already married to the wonderful Nabiki!"  
  
Ranma stood there with a look of shock on his face.  
  
"In either case, I am in awe of your ingenuity and honor! You freed my fair Akane her from her detestable duty and at the same time you met your own family promised by marrying the delectable, yet detestable Nabiki!"  
  
All Ranma could do is stand in the hall and watch Kuno run up the stairs to his own class and say, "Wha?"  
  
"Saotome! In the office, NOW!"  
  
Inside the office, he found himself sitting next to Nabiki. The assistant principal, whose clean desk was topped by a manila envelope and two folders, was staring the two of them down as he tried to read the youngsters emotions.  
  
"Well. Let me be the first school official to congratulate the two of you on the joining of your families. I'm quite sure your fathers must be very happy."  
  
Nabiki's mouth started to open and close, but her voice refused to work. Ranma had no such problem, "We aren't married."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow and opened the folder, and read the top form. "Hmm. Yes, you are. It says so, right here."  
  
Nabiki's voice returned to her at this point and asked, "May I see that?"  
  
"Of course, Mrs. Saotome, here it is."  
  
Nabiki looked at the letter and saw that it was a copy of the official notification of a minor's marriage to the school. As she read it, she learned that she and Ranma just gained a whole new set of problems. It was obvious that the meeting at the temporary city building did not clear up the bank's mistake; and judging by the date on the letter, the situation may have worsened.  
  
"Ranma?" she said as she offered the letter to Ranma to read.  
  
As Ranma read the letter, a scowl developed on his face.  
  
"It looks like nothing was done. It figures that would the case if some guy is named 'One One.'"  
  
"Excuse me, I seem to be not understanding something. I thought the two of you would be happy to know that we have completed the name changes and have formally accepted your marriage."  
  
"This all a mistake. Several weeks ago, Ranma and I were caught in a bureaucratic mistake. Due to an unfortunate and unlikely chain of events, some people thought we were newly married, and because of the fire that burned down the records depository, that line of thinking was perpetuated. We tried to fix it a couple of weeks ago by going to the temporary city offices, but that letter is evidence that our "situation" has not been addressed."  
  
"So you aren't married?"  
  
Ranma placed the letter back on the desk and said, "No, we're not."  
  
Nabiki watched Ranma's face as she elaborated, "Technically, they think we are, but we aren't. There's supposed to be some forms and such behind this, and I think Ranma and I need to see that old clerk again.  
  
If we're lucky, you might be getting another letter tomorrow, rescinding the one you received today."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"No, I'm not sure. That's why Ranma and I have to go to the hall and talk to Ichi Ichi again."  
  
"Well, that is something you can do after school today. Mr. Saotome, I take it you don't have detention today?"  
  
"Er, no?"  
  
"Well then, the two of you are excused from your after school obligations."  
  
Nabiki and Ranma started to negotiate an immediate departure to the hall, explaining that the last time they had to stand in line for several hours and be redirected to several different departments. It was only when Ranma reminded the vice principal of the chaos that occurred when Akane was asked not to play Juliet and hinted at the potential damage that may occur when the school finds out that Ranma and Nabiki are married.  
  
With visions of a burning school and a rioting student body, the two were excused for the rest of the day provided that they obtain a note from an official at the Halls.  
  
***  
  
"Don't look at me," Ranma said as he pulled his bus token from the machine. "Kuno met me in the hallway and gave me an envelope and told me how happy he was."  
  
Nabiki's eyes opened in half shock and half fear. "Kuno knows?"  
  
"Of course. He's the one that delivered the mail to me during lunch, and I opened it when he was still here."  
  
"Shit."  
  
Ranma tapped Nabiki on the shoulder.  
  
"What?"  
  
Ranma had a mischievous grin on his face as he answered, "You swore."  
  
***  
  
After waiting in several lines again, they finally meet Ichi Ichi and ask if they could be updated on where the marriage correction papers. Ichi Ichi had a confused look on his face, went looking through his files for what he did two weeks ago. He pulled out a folder, and looked through several hand written notes and found what he was looking for. Smiling, he assured the two that the marriage papers have been dutifully submitted and that a certificate, suitable for framing, would soon be mailed to their house.  
  
"Suitable for framing?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"Hey, I ain't married to her. This is all a mistake!"  
  
"Uhm. Yes, the two of you signed the marriage forms two weeks ago. Why, is there a problem?"  
  
"Yes. I'm not..." Ranma blurted, but stopped when Nabiki put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
Nabiki quickly apologized and tried to explain the situation once again. Halfway through the explanation, Mr. Kunimoto came by to assure that Ichi Ichi was processing the separation.  
  
Ranma started to say something and was stopped by a sudden and sharp pain in his foot. Nabiki smiled, and told the manager that Ichi Ichi was being most helpful.  
  
Mr. Kunimoto smiled, and wished the two teenagers well, and went about his rounds.  
  
Ichi Ichi watched the exchange between Nabiki and Ranma with interest, and when his supervisor came by, he was surprised that management supported the girl's tale. He started gathering the necessary paper work and mentally started inventorying the tasks he had in front of him. Silently he cursed his own effectiveness.  
  
When Mr. Kunimoto was out of earshot, Ichi Ichi put his hands on the table and profusely apologized to Nabiki and Ranma for totally misunderstanding the reason of the previous days' visit.  
  
Nabiki's voice was cold and harsh. "There will be no problems, right?"  
  
Ichi Ichi felt a twinge of fear shudder down his back and gulped nervously. Somehow the brown haired girl in front of him inspired fear; he was more scared of what she would do to him than he was of his own management. It was only through his experience of working in the government for so long that he was able to keep his composure as he organized the newly created pile of papers in front of him.  
  
"No, there won't be. That is if you can help a little." Not wanting to face a cold Nabiki, looked at Ranma for support. On Ranma's face he saw a blank look, but his blue eyes twinkled like the sun reflecting off an iceberg.  
  
He placed two stacks of paper in front of Nabiki, and indicted the first one with his hand, "These forms are to correct the changes I implemented." He then pointed to the second stack of papers, "These forms are for a No Contest Divorce." He felt a sudden chill from the other side of the counter. "Just in case there are problems," he hastily added.  
  
"Divorce?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Yes. It is entirely possible that some systems and people can only 'undo' a marriage is by 'doing' a divorce."  
  
"It says we have to have our fathers sign the divorce papers." Nabiki was going though the forms and found one paper stating that the parents of the couple asserted parental duties for their children.  
  
With an indifferent air, Ichi Ichi explained the need for the form, "Of course. Neither one of you are twenty, so they have to take responsibility for you."  
  
"Shit."  
  
Nabiki rapped Ranma's shoulder. "Ranma! What did we teach you about swearing?"  
  
"Sorry, Nabiki. But there's no way that Pops is gonna sign that thing. He and your daddy have been working on getting me married to Akane too long to let this opportunity slip."  
  
"Shit."  
  
Ranma gently tapped her shoulder and Ichi Ichi looked at Nabiki, who began to blush and quickly apologized for her outburst.  
  
The three of them went through the forms and placed the necessary signatures and stamps as required; when the three were done, they were all tired.  
  
"Now, all you have to do is get our fathers to sign this one last form, right?"  
  
"Correct. But until you do, you are both still legally married according to," Ichi Ichi paused to thumbed through a binder before continuing, "the Ministries of Education and Health. Oh. And the postal service."  
  
"Of course. Education. Billions of yen are spent every year to ensure the future of this countries children, and it just has to be one of the most backwards."  
  
Nabiki started to tense up when she felt Ranma holding her hand. He quietly calmed her down by telling her that he was resorting to using the ultimate Saotome Final technique -- running away to think about the battle they face.  
  
Nabiki took the envelope that held the forms that the fathers were to sign and thanked Ichi Ichi one last time before walking out of the office.  
  
As Ichi Ichi and Mr. Kunimoto watched the two teenagers leave, the looked at each other in amusement.  
  
"Well, Boss," Ichi Ichi started, "it looks like there's more work to do."  
  
"Yes."  
  
The old clerk patted his chest for a cigarette, and wondered aloud, "Are you sure they aren't supposed to stay married?"  
  
The manager slightly shook his head, "They sure act as if they are."  
  
***  
  
Sitting on a bench near the bus stop, Nabiki and Ranma sat chewing on some mackerel sticks as they reviewed their eventful day. They agreed that the fathers presented the most serious challenge to their divorce and that they needed to come up with a workable plan.  
  
In a quiet moment after finding new ways to curse their fathers, Nabiki wondered why Ranma was so adamant on insisting that they weren't married, even when they really were. She didn't want to be married either, but she has seen enough of him to discern that something else was bothering her partner.  
  
"So, Ranma. What's bothering you?"  
  
"We ain't married. We're going though the divorce so everyone else knows we aren't married."  
  
Nabiki sat there, waiting for Ranma to continue. When he didn't she replied with an "and?"  
  
Ranma chewed on the tough fish stick a moment before speaking. "And nothing. We are not married."  
  
He was obviously hiding something and didn't want to talk about it. Nabiki thought a moment, she too was affected by the situation they were in. "You seem rather stubborn about denying everything we saw back there said we were married." Nabiki picked a small bone out from between her teeth. Confident that there weren't any more, she said, "Even I had to agree that they think we are married and that the have the evidence to prove it. So why don't you think we are married?"  
  
Ranma started to mumble again, "Because I didn't make any promises to you. And if," Ranma shook his head, "once I get married, a divorce isn't going to ever happen."  
  
"But people get divorced all the time."  
  
"Yeah. That's because many of them can't keep their promises. And I don't break my promises."  
  
Nabiki mulled over his comments for a moment. He had managed to keep his promises to her and to her family. There were the occasional lapses in judgment that led to problems, but he sincerely regretted the mistakes he made. He has his faults, she thought, but he is basically a good person. Ranma would make a good husband, if his wife could deal with the craziness that surrounds him.  
  
Nabiki did not agree Ranma's opinion, so she responded with, "Marriages, Ranma, aren't just promises. They are contracts. You do know the terms of the contract, don't you?"  
  
Ranma sat silent, not knowing how to answer the question.  
  
Nabiki smiled and turned her "sensei" voice on. "Marriage is a contract that creates a partnership. The general purpose of the partnership is to provide for mutual welfare of the partners and their respective families. The basis of the partnership is most often based upon the emotional ties the couple have built, but sometimes it is done because of honor or other concerns." She paused to catch her breath.  
  
"So why in the world did your daddy and my pop make that stupid agreement?"  
  
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders as she took a bite of her cold mackerel.  
  
After absentmindedly scratching his arm, he asked if marriage is like the agreement that they have regarding the business.  
  
"Kind of," she replied. "Except that marriage works on many levels. That's why there's a wedding ceremony -- which is not required, thank you very much -- where you make your promises."  
  
"I don't need a ceremony to get married?"  
  
"No. Think about it for a moment. That's how we got married in the first place. The bank thought we declared our marriage, and Poof! Everyone thinks we are married. And the government is all too eager to have us be married."  
  
"So, what do you need the ceremony for?"  
  
"Because, by the time you want to get married, there are ties that bind that are stronger than a contract. And that's where you make your promise. You make a promise to your wife, your family, your wife's family, the government, and everyone else."  
  
Ranma's curiosity was piqued, so he asked, "What's the promise?"  
  
In English, Nabiki quotes the promise she memorized when she was a little girl:  
  
Will you have this Woman as your wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, so long as you both shall live?  
  
In the name of God, I, (name), take you, Nabiki, to be my wife,  
  
to have and to hold from this day forward,  
  
for better or worse, for richer or poorer,  
  
in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,  
  
until we are parted by death.  
  
This is my solemn vow.  
  
Ranma looked at her in confusion, so Nabiki translated the vows to Japanese.  
  
"Pops wants me to say that?"  
  
"No. This is what I want my future husband to say to me. You and Akane get to figure out what you want to say to each other."  
  
"I ain't marrying Akane."  
  
"Well, you are engaged to her."  
  
"Yeah, but..."  
  
"So, since you are engaged to her, that means you are going to marry her."  
  
"I can't marry Akane."  
  
"And why not."  
  
"According to those jokers," Ranma pointed to the bag that held the forms they received from Ichi Ichi, "I'm already married to you. Remember?"  
  
"Which is why we have get the divorce."  
  
"We can't get divorced unless our Pops get involved."  
  
The problem of the fathers was getting to Nabiki. She took a deep breath, and decided that more food was the answer.  
  
"You sit and think. I'm going for more." Nabiki stood up and brought two more mackerel sticks. When she returned, she then waved one of them in front of Ranma's face, waking him up from his thoughts.  
  
Taking a bite out of the new stick, Ranma asked Nabiki, "Is that what you really want?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Ranma looked down at the ground and softly murmured, "I can't make a promise like that."  
  
Nabiki realized that Ranma was talking about the marriage vow, and found it strange that what he just said hurt her. She considered him to be her business partner, and a friend.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Moments later, Nabiki found herself walking alone away from Ranma.  
  
***  
  
For the rest of the afternoon, Ranma roof-hopped, performed a few katas, and did a few hundred sit-ups and push-ups in different parts of Tokyo. He expected that Kuno would spread the news of his marriage to Nabiki throughout the school, and that meant that his other fiancées would be out looking for him. One part of him was thinking that as long as they were looking for him, Nabiki should be safe. Another part of him was trying to bury the feeling that he had somehow did something wrong just before Nabiki left him.  
  
Ranma returned to the house after the sun had set and snuck into the furo and tried to think of a way to get his father and Soun to agree to his divorcing Nabiki. Whatever he came up with would have to be based upon deceit and trickery, and Nabiki was the best person he knew that could help him. As he left the furo and passed by the kitchen, Kasumi called out to him, asking if he knew why Nabiki was upset.  
  
A guilty feeling arose, and he motioned that he didn't know. As he tried to escape the kitchen, Kasumi asked him to try to cheer Nabiki up. After all, it was the husband's duty to look after his wife.  
  
It was with a feeling of resignation that Ranma agreed to talk her. In the back of his mind, he hoped that talking to her might explain the lost feeling he had himself.  
  
As he stood at Nabiki's door, he thought it would be better if he took a slightly less traditional approach to entering her room. In a few moments, he was outside and hanging from the ledge as he knocked on Nabiki's window. In a few seconds he saw Nabiki open the curtains and look at him then shut the curtains again.  
  
It wasn't easy to gain entrance; he knocked a few times more, jumped on the roof above her room, and started an insistent tap on he window. Eventually Nabiki opened the window and let him enter.  
  
Ranma settled for his normal spot on the floor while Nabiki sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. The two teenagers sat quietly in the room, staring at each other, trying to read each other's emotions. Finally Ranma spoke, asking her what was wrong.  
  
Nabiki glared at him, his careless comment of the afternoon was still ringing loudly in her mind.  
  
"Saotome, you are so clueless sometimes, she said coolly. When Ranma started to look at the ground, she rebuked him, "Look at me, and face what you did.  
  
"You hurt my feelings this afternoon." Nabiki paused for a moment and tried to keep her voice level and calm, "Do you know what you said?"  
  
Ranma response was silence, but Nabiki could see answer amongst the confusion and fear in his eyes. The expression reminded Nabiki again of Ranma's skewed emotional and social development, and while it frustrated her, she had to admit that she enjoyed attempting to redeem and improve the oaf in front of her.  
  
She felt a slight smile cross her lips. It felt very comfortable having him sit on the floor just a few feet from her -- even if she is angry.  
  
"Ranma," she said, and then paused. Looking at her own hands, and not daring to look at the boy in front of her, she continued, "Ranma-kun, please...what...." Nabiki sighed in her frustration at not being able to articulate the thoughts and feelings that were swimming inside of her.  
  
"Nabiki, I don't have a plan about the divorce."  
  
She didn't miss the regret in Ranma's tone. The marriage was not on her mind all afternoon. "We'll come up with something, Ranma. We always do."  
  
Ranma smiled with confidence and his posture stiffened a little as he agreed, "Yeah, we do, don't we?"  
  
Nabiki regarded Ranma's response and wondered where his confidence came from. When she made the comment she didn't feel all that confident, earlier in the afternoon she briefly considered giving up.  
  
Again the married couple sat in thought for a moment before Ranma spoke again.  
  
"Kasumi sent me..." he started.  
  
Nabiki joined in and they completed the sentence together, "to find out why I'm so upset."  
  
The two of them looked at each other and laughed.  
  
"I should have known why you were being so persistent," Nabiki thought. Her thoughts darkened with the remembrance of why she was gloomy mood.  
  
"Ranma-kun, I'm sorry. I was acting selfish this afternoon. I should have realized that you couldn't make such a promise like that." Nabiki tried to keep her voice even, and wasn't sure if she succeeded. Ranma, of late, has been able to read her true emotions even as she tried to hide them.  
  
"Promise?" Ranma paused a moment, "Oh, the wedding vow."  
  
Nabiki found herself being studied by Ranma.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with it, I guess. It just doesn't seem right for me to say. "  
  
Nabiki then heard Ranma mutter something quietly to himself and pressed him. "What did you just say?"  
  
"I didn't say anything."  
  
Nabiki's voice displayed her irritation, "I heard you say something, or make some noise. What was it?"  
  
Ranma mumbled something again, and Nabiki couldn't make out what he said. She thought she heard something, but it seemed impossible.  
  
"I didn't hear you. What did you just say?"  
  
Ranma was visibly nervous.  
  
"I said I wasn't ready for that yet."  
  
"I never said you were. And I'm not ready for it yet, either."  
  
"Yeah. But we're already married."  
  
"Don't remind me."  
  
Nabiki closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Ranma just said that he wasn't ready for a wedding vow. That much was obvious. But then, why was she so sure that he originally said "we" aren't ready yet? Shrugging aside that line of thinking, she wondered if Ranma ever thought about his won wedding.  
  
"Hey Ranma. Have you ever thought about your own wedding?"  
  
"Nope. You know how Pops is. 'Girls are weak; girls are a distraction form the art; blah, blah, blah.' So when me and Akane got engaged, I had no idea of what to think."  
  
"Your father is a first class idiot." The two of them enjoyed a small chuckle of agreement.  
  
"With all the engagements, I really haven't thought about getting married."  
  
"Gee, what a surprise."  
  
Nabiki and Ranma relaxed in their own company a short while longer in silence. As Nabiki tried to think of ways to trick her father, Ranma blurted out, "This isn't all bad."  
  
"What's not all bad?"  
  
"If being married means being able to sit in a room with someone else quietly and think, I could learn to like it."  
  
***  
  
Knock. Knock.  
  
Nabiki turned and look at the clock by the bed and saw that it was thirty minutes after midnight. She pulled the covers over her head, hoping that the knocking that she heard was a dream.  
  
Knock.  
  
Disappointed that real life interrupted her visit to dreamland, Nabiki stretched and threw the covers off her.  
  
Knock. Knock.  
  
"I'm coming," she groused. Whoever it was, was being persistent. "One Yen will get me ten that it's Ranma," Nabiki thought. After she made sure her pajama top was closed and she wasn't exposed, she opened the door and found her suspicion was correct.  
  
"What is it Ranma. It's twelve-thirty in the morning. It had better be good."  
  
"We have a problem."  
  
"Yeah. I'm awake. That's the problem."  
  
"No. Shampoo."  
  
"Shampoo?"  
  
"Obstacles are for killing."  
  
"She hasn't yet."  
  
"She hasn't tried."  
  
"We'll talk to Cologne in the morning."  
  
"Hey. I'll be alright."  
  
"Ranma. Go to bed. Nothing will ha..."  
  
Nabiki never finished her sentence. She felt herself being pulled through the door and slammed against the wall with enough force to almost knock the wind out from her. Turning to give Ranma a piece of her mind, she saw him blocking a large melon hammer.  
  
"Out of my way male. Shampoo must remove obstacle."  
  
Shampoo surged forward and tried to leap over Ranma's head. Ranma was not surprised and caught Shampoo around her waist just as she started her leap.  
  
Ranma tried to hold the crazed Amazon attacker. "Shampoo, stop!" he yelled into her ear.  
  
Shampoo had no intention of stopping, instead she twisted and tried to hit Ranma's forehead with her free arm and hammer. "Stupid husband. You need to learn right place."  
  
With the hammer flying toward his head, Ranma had to let go of Shampoo and duck. As the hammer flew dangerously close to the top of his head, Ranma grabbed Shampoo, lifted her off the ground, and threw her into the wall next to Nabiki's bed.  
  
With the battle started, Akane and Kasumi came running out of their rooms to witness Shampoo and Ranma fighting. Nabiki was standing at the edge of her doorframe, peering in from safety.  
  
"Oh, my!"  
  
"What's that Chinese hussy doing here?"  
  
"I think she wanted to cave my skull in."  
  
"Why, that brazen..." Akane tried to rush into the room, but Nabiki held her back.  
  
"Stop, Akane. Don't make anything worse by getting involved." Nabiki watched Ranma punch Shampoo's arm. "He's trying to stop her without destroying the house. So don't distract him."  
  
Akane tried to keep moving forward, but Nabiki's grip was viselike. She too watched Ranma strike back at Shampoo, this time it was a kick to her thigh. As she followed the blows, she saw that Nabiki was right. Ranma was keeping Shampoo away from the door and was trying to work her to the window. The majority of the blows that Ranma took were calculated to prevent damage to the room or Shampoo's escape. Akane could tell that Ranma was pulling his punches as well. It was obvious to her that he was trying to wear her down without causing any serious injury.  
  
Akane stopped her forward pull and joined her sisters in watching the skirmish in front of her. She heard her father and the other Saotomes arrive and push their way to the door to see what was going on.  
  
Eventually Ranma gracefully kicked Shampoo through the window frame and out of sight. Akane felt the fathers barge through and started congratulating Ranma in his defense of his wife. Behind her, she heard Kasumi say something to Auntie Nodoka about checking to see if the window was broken.  
  
For Akane, the whole situation felt a little strange. Normally she was the one being defended or rescued, but this time it was Nabiki. While she tried to put things into perspective, she saw Nabiki enter the room with the first aid kit. She watched her sister extract Ranma from the joyful fathers and sat him upon the bed before tending to his lacerations. The two of them had an easy familiarity, they quietly bantered about something that she couldn't hear.  
  
Still not sure how things were supposed to be, Akane turned and went back to her room after saying good-night to everyone.  
  
***  
  
Ranma and Nabiki were the only two people left in her room after everyone left. She had been thanking him the whole time she was tending his wounds and he was thinking of how nice it felt to have someone actually be grateful instead of berating him.  
  
He looked around the room and saw that very little was damaged, only the window will have to be replaced, and it already had a board over it to keep the night's chill away.  
  
Nabiki yawned and Ranma followed suit, and after saying goodnight, the Ranma left and Nabiki crawled back into bed.  
  
Knock.  
  
"Now what?" Nabiki thought as she got up and opened the door. In front of her was a red-headed Ranma holding a blanket and pillow.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"She might come back. So I'm sleeping in here tonight."  
  
Nabiki looked at the girl in front of her. In the back of her mind she thought she could hear some deities laugh at her and wondered if Akane ever heard the very same snickering. She saw Ranma's face was serious and the laughter died away. She had a serious decision to make here. She could send Ranma away, but that would take a significant amount of time and effort to convince him that it was safe. Or she could let him sleep in the same room. Or she could sleep with him -- or her.  
  
It was a tantalizing thought. She looked at the bed and seriously considered inviting Ranma to share the blankets with her. He is, she reminded herself, her husband even if they are trying to get divorced. Consummating the marriage could well cause problems in the future as well; Akane certainly wouldn't be happy about that. But, she is a woman, and she was curious. And despite the impending divorce, she actually liked Ranma.  
  
Now she wondered again, whether male or female Ranma. She had thought about Ranma's gender before but never considered it to be a major issue as he was engaged to Akane. She corrected herself; Ranma is still engaged to Akane. But they may never get married if recent history is portending the future.  
  
Her husband was a male. Just because he looked like a girl didn't mean he was a girl.  
  
"Change back, Ranma. And you are sleeping on the floor."  
  
"It isn't right..." he started to protest.  
  
"Ranma, I'm too tired to argue. Right now you are my husband. And husbands imply the male gender. Go change and come back. I'll be under the covers when you get back."  
  
Nabiki heard him mutter as he walked away. She climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over her. A few moments later, a male Ranma walked in and threw his bedding on the floor. She watched him unfold the blanket and fluff his pillow before crawling under them. Half wondering why she chose to make the strange mental compromise, she bade him goodnight and turned off the light.  
  
Nabiki lay in bed looking at the ceiling, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked over to Ranma. He was sound asleep in the same spot where he studied.  
  
She wondered what it would be like to have Ranma in bed with her. She knew she was taking a personal gamble in having a male Ranma in her room. He was attractive, very attractive. Sometimes he would be next to her when they studied and she would have to fight a very strong urge to kiss or fondle him. Just a few minutes ago, as everyone was leaving them, she struggled against a desire to latch on to him.  
  
Her hands started to roam over her body, she closed her eyes, imagining what it may have been like if Ranma was in bed with her for real. She quickly stopped, and with a reluctant sigh, rolled over and went to sleep, wondering if the silver platter on the wall really was glowing.  
  
***  
  
Tiny slits of early morning sunlight filtered in from the cracks of the board covering the window, and Nabiki was lying in bed awake. She had an exhausting sleep for she spent much of the night dreaming about staying married to Ranma. She looked at her man. Her man? No. That's exactly what she tried not to think about all night.  
  
She sat up and looked at the clock. It said six seventeen in the morning. Normally she'd be asleep and Ranma would just be getting out of bed. She put her feet on the bed and rubbed her eyes as she stood up and took her first step.  
  
And tripped on Ranma's feet.  
  
"I gotcha, Nabiki."  
  
Ranma caught her on the way down and lowered her onto his chest. When she felt contact, she instinctively reached around him for support. Once on his chest she looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, Ranma. I guess I'm a little clumsy in the morning."  
  
Nabiki relaxed a moment, closing her eyes as she felt Ranma's warmth on her chest. "So comfortable..." she thought drifting to sleep again.  
  
"Uhh, Nabiki?"  
  
Nabiki woke up and realized that she was in a natural, but very compromising position. She giggled and rubbed her hands on his, "Good Morning, husband Ranma."  
  
"N-N-Nabiki, what are you doing?" stammered Ranma.  
  
The dreams of the night affected Nabiki. She looked up at him and brushed a hair out face. "Waking up the way I think I be," she said as she caressed his chest.  
  
Slowly, she sat up with Ranma's help and started adjusted her pajama top. Somehow the top two buttons came undone earlier that night.  
  
Click.  
  
"Ran...Ranma! My son!" Soun and Genma both chorused as they opened the door to Nabiki's room to see a bare-chested Ranma on the floor holding Nabiki up, and Nabiki was buttoning her top, obviously getting dressed after spending the night with her husband. They looked at each other and both broke out in tears of happiness. They hugged and ran downstairs to start celebrating with visions of grandchildren running through their minds.  
  
Nabiki and Ranma sat up straight. "Shit," they both said, realizing that what the fathers saw and what really happened were two different things.  
  
"That wasn't good is it?" Ranma asked rhetorically.  
  
"Well, it could be worse," Nabiki said as she finished the last button. She turned around and tried to stand up and said, "It could have been your mother and Akane."  
  
Unfortunately for the wedded duo, the door opened just then to expose Nodoka, Akane, and Kasumi. Nodoka was deliriously happy, she heard her husband make comments about grandchildren. Akane was furious, her face was purple, and was ready to kill Ranma. Fortunately for Ranma and Nabiki, Kasumi was holding Akane back.  
  
"It's not what you think!" Ranma protested.  
  
Nodoka looked at her son with a proud expression, and asked, "Then what is it?"  
  
Knowing Ranma's history, Nabiki spoke quickly, "I tripped when I got out of bed. I was just getting up again when Father and Uncle Saotome barged in here."  
  
"They said you were getting dressed."  
  
Nabiki lied slightly, "My top came undone when I fell and I was buttoning it closed." Silently she hoped that Nodoka would accept that answer.  
  
Akane found her voice and shouted, "Ranma, you pervert! I thought we were engaged!" She broke free from Kasumi's grasp and ran to her room.  
  
The smile eased on Nodoka's face as she walked into the room and looked around before kneeling next to Nabiki. Looking at Nabiki straight in the eyes, Nodoka searched for the truth. The smile that was lost was soon replaced with a new one.  
  
"I believe you," she said.  
  
Nabiki and Ranma blinked in surprise.  
  
"You do?" Ranma asked.  
  
Nabiki asked a different question, "How did you know?"  
  
Nodoka released her gaze and stood up again. "Quite simple," she said, "it doesn't smell right in here." She started to leave the room, and informed the two that she would correct the father's impression for them. Before she left, she stopped at the door and said, "I suppose I should correct that, Nabiki. I should have said that the smell wasn't strong enough."  
  
Breakfast was normal if one considered that Nodoka cowed both Genma and Soun into behaving. Even Akane had calmed down since Kasumi explained Nodoka's observation, and was trying to find a way to apologize to them as she ate.  
  
Once at school, Ranma was pulled aside by Hiroshi and Daisuke, asking if he was really married to Nabiki.  
  
"No. I'm not married to Nabiki."  
  
"Tell us the truth, Ranma. Kuno was spreading it around all day yesterday afternoon," Daisuke pressed.  
  
This caught Ranma's attention. Kuno did know part of the truth, and that was enough. Ranma started his story with "you gotta keep this a secret" and ended with the previous day's meeting with Ichi Ichi.  
  
"Whoa. That sucks," quipped Hiroshi.  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
Daisuke slapped Ranma on the back, "You get my sympathies, man. It's bad enough that you gotta be married. But to that greedy bitch..." He shuddered to emphasize his feelings.  
  
"I'd rather die than marry that queen."  
  
Ranma knew that Nabiki had an unsavory reputation but he didn't think people disliked her that much. Ranma might actually concede "greedy" to Daisuke, but the "bitch" comment went too far. And Hiroshi's comment about a "queen" bothered him.  
  
"Knock it off guys," he said.  
  
Daisuke and Hiroshi looked at each other and then at Ranma. Hiroshi took his life and put it in his hands, "Ranma, say it isn't so. Say that you don't like Nabiki."  
  
Ranma didn't know how to respond to Hiroshi's comment. He was caught in an uncomfortable position of choosing to be like his friends or actually admitting something that he actually liked Nabiki.  
  
Which of course, he didn't. But he did. And he knew it, and that was the source of his frustration. If he said he didn't like her, she'd get mad at him. If he said he did like her, then the divorce hole may get deeper and harder to climb out of.  
  
So he said nothing and walked away.  
  
Which was a mistake, as the Daisuke and Hiroshi took Ranma's silence as confirmation that he did like her. Solemnly, they clapped their hands and prayed for Ranma's well being.  
  
One in his classroom, Ranma took his usual seat and waited for class to start. Whenever someone would ask him if he was married to Nabiki, he would answer with silence.  
  
In the desk next to him, Akane was fielding similar questions. The two most aggravating ones were the constant questions about her availability for a date and expressions of sympathy for Ranma.  
  
The Saotome and Tendo looked at each other is mutual suffering and they both hoped that the teacher would show up soon to settle the class down. Unfortunately, the next person to enter was Ukyo, wearing her Okonomiyaki uniform and was wielding her battle spatula.  
  
"Ranma! You said I was your cute fiancée! And now you have to marry that mordacious..." Ukyo couldn't finish her sentence and spat.  
  
Ranma had no idea what Ukyo said, but knew she was somehow insulting Nabiki. And her insult was the one more that exceeded his patience and acceptance. He furiously shouted at Ukyo, "Quit talking about her like that! Nabiki is not cruel, mean, or a bitch! She's my friend and my partner!"  
  
Then he bolted out the window, leaving a shattered desk behind him, and ran.  
  
The sun was about to reach its zenith when halfway between the school and anyplace else, Ranma found himself intercepted by Cologne.  
  
"Son-in-law," she addressed him, "you defeated my granddaughter again. You are now required to return to the village with us as her husband. And you will care for her as she heals."  
  
Ranma's response of "go away, old bat" irritated Cologne. She sensed that he was distracted by something and took advantage of the situation by pouncing and quickly pressing a select few locations on Ranma's back.  
  
The effect was immediate as Ranma cried "Whaaa!" as he fell to the ground.  
  
Satisfied that Ranma was unable to move, Cologne sat next to him and started asking if he was indeed married to Nabiki, an accusation that Ranma denied. But when she pressed why Kuno would make up such a lie and why Akane would affirm such a rumor at school, Ranma conceded that he wasn't supposed to be married to Nabiki and that it was his father's entire fault.  
  
After a little prodding, Cologne was able to listen to Ranma's tale, and was not disappointed with her own predictions as to the events that occurred. As expected, Ranma's life was surrounded by confusion, mayhem and chaos and exacerbated by his own actions. His current difficulties were very inviting to meddle with; Ranma was virtually giving her license to strike at his father. Such an opportunity wasn't to be missed, so she decided to help him divorce Nabiki for a price -- he would return to China with Shampoo as her husband.  
  
She didn't really expect Ranma to accept what she was going to offer. The old hag studied the still boy in front of her, wondering how he built such ties to Nerima. Those ties, she thought, were a source of strength, but they were also a weakness if one had the compunction to exploit. Over the years she had found that taking advantage of weaknesses generally led to victory if she had a little luck.  
  
"Son-in-law, you know that what I am about offer has a price."  
  
Ranma's reaction was instantaneous. "Are you nuts, you old mummy? No way. I am not going to China as Shampoo's husband!"  
  
"I never said that. But now that you mention it, don't you think that Granddaughter would be a much better and prettier wife than that calculating shrew that takes advantage of you at every opportunity?"  
  
Cologne saw the flicker of an electric blue and white aura envelop Ranma, and when it disappeared, she watched Ranma stand up and take a few steps away from her. She was certain that Ranma should have been lying down for several more minutes and to see him get up and move away was a mildly unexpected, but watch him move with no sign of lethargy was a surprise. When she was last subjected to that very same move many years ago, it was hours before she could even walk without aid. Now here was Ranma standing just a few feet away from her and was ready to defend himself.  
  
The serious look on his face reminded her that Ranma was not, is not, and never will be an easy conquest. Although Ranma was supposed to be married to her great-granddaughter, or at least that what she lets Shampoo think, she considered him to a talent that should not go to waste.  
  
To her, Ranma was a personal challenge. Whether it was "son-in-law", "student", "adversary", or occasionally even "friend", he was a challenge to her in just about every way she could think of. She smiled and started a cackling laugh when a vision of Ranma being chased by a hundred Amazons "wives". This is one case, she thought, that the strongest husband is not what is needed in the village.  
  
She tried to calm a skittish Ranma as she pogoed on her stick towards him by saying, "Relax, boy. I'll help you get that divorce from Nabiki. And no, you don't have go to China."  
  
She saw some of the tension leave Ranma when she said that an extended trip was required.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why? It's simple. You can't be married to Shampoo if you are married to Nabiki. No?"  
  
Ranma looked uneasy at the comment, but he did thank her just before he bounded away into the distance.  
  
And she pogoed back to the café, wondering just how close had Ranma and Nabiki become. She berated herself not seriously considering the middle Tendo girl, thinking that Akane and Kasumi were the potential threats.  
  
"Oh, well," she mumbled to herself. "It looks like Shampoo may finally learn that the standard village techniques are not going to work."  
  
*****************  
  
Note: The melon hammer is often called a "bonbori" in Ranma 1/2 fanfictions. I wasn't sure of the spelling, so I took to the web and did some searching for "bonbori", and all that I could find were either fanfictions or references to the Bonbori festival in Japan. This took me start checking martial arts supply stores, and one of them actually have something called "melon hammers" (). The picture of the item looked close enough to the mythical bonbori, so I went with "melon hammer". 


	16. Chapter 16

Nabiki was not in a good mood as she walked home. She was exhausted from dealing with the incessant questions and trying to undo all the damage that her younger sister was doing to her reputation and to her family. She occupied her mind by brainstorming ideas on how she was going to let Akane know that the "help" she performed made things far worse.  
  
The whole school now knew that the marriage was real. She could deal with that, and she almost had it under control. Then she heard that Ranma left the school after defending her when Ukyo insulted her. He actually said that she was his friend. From Ranma, that was an esteemed position, and it touched her.  
  
As she walked under an overpass, she felt her arms painfully pulled up as she was forced to the ground. In surprise, she found herself half kneeling in front of a small Indonesian that was dressed like a pirate captain whose costume included a fake eye-patch and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder. She tried to remember what little training she received from her father, and tried to twist her body to change the leverage, but found that the arms that held her were strong and practiced.  
  
Nabiki was frightened, but it wasn't the arms of the man that instilled fear in Nabiki, but rather it was pirate captain, who held a syringe in one hand has he removed air bubbles by tapping the syringe's side with the other.  
  
Her life in jeopardy, Nabiki started screaming as loud as she could and squirmed in her captive's arms with every bit of resistance she could muster. As soon as she felt one arm loosen, her arms were pulled back harder, and a knee pressed painfully into her shoulder. Without any leverage that would have allowed her mount an effective attempt to escape and the growing pain in shoulders and back caused Nabiki yell louder and to insult her captors.  
  
"Shut up!" The captain swung an open hand across her face; the slap left a large red welt on her cheek. Just about to administer the needle, she felt an arm become loose, and a moment later, the other arm was free as well. She fell to the ground and rolled away from the needle. Scrambling to her feet, she turned to find her assailants to see a familiar red and black flash.  
  
"I don' know what you got in your minds picking on Nabiki here, but if she's yelling for help, something ain't right. So I suggest you oughta just leave." Ranma was furious, his hands were encased in a light of pure blue, and he looked ready to hurt someone.  
  
"Pha! Dispose of the meddler," the short captain snorted. As he turned to leave the street corner, the two fighters pulled out small sticks, and proceeded to advance on Ranma. Before they had taken two steps, Ranma launched into the air, landing on the larger of the two brutes, knocking him to the ground. The second combatant ran to his comrade's aid, attacking Ranma with his stick.  
  
While the little pirate was good, Ranma knew was quicker, stronger, and far better trained. Even though Ranma was still on the ground, Ranma was able to knock the stick out of the pirate's hand and kicked his opponent into unconsciousness.  
  
As Ranma watched the short pirate fall to the ground, he felt a blow to his head. Ranma threw himself off the ground, and stood in front of the larger pirate, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head. With the world spinning, Ranma lashed out with Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken at the big blob in front of him with the fervent hope that he was hitting his opponent's body.  
  
Only when the body in front of Ranma started to fall did Ranma stop his punches. He wiped the moisture from his forehead and turned to Nabiki to see if she was unharmed.  
  
Ranma wiped his forehead again and saw that Nabiki was physically fine but she had a look of shock on her face. A few drops from his forehead fell into his eyes and they blurred his vision; he closed his eyes and wiped his forehead again. Then the universe started to spin and behind closed eyes, strange geometric patterns swirled in his imagination before slowly going black.  
  
The whole fight took just five seconds. Nabiki blinked only once, and missed half the fight. Surveying the scene, Nabiki saw shorter pirate is crumpled on the ground with a potential broken jaw and nose. The larger pirate was in worse shape; it looked like his chest was made of play-dough that was first smashed by a baseball bat and then used for target practice by a machine gun. Then she saw Ranma lying still on the ground with blood all over his face.  
  
Nabiki quickly ran over to Ranma. Leaning over, she pulled him away from his two attackers, and started looking for injuries, finding a very large and soft lump on the top of his head. She set him down by the curb, looking at Ranma's face, hoping he'd open his eyes.  
  
Nabiki placed pressure on the obvious source of the bleeding with one hand while wiping the rivulets of blood off his face. In a few moments the bleeding stopped and she became concerned that Ranma was not conscious.  
  
"Ranma! Wake up! Ranma!!!! Wake up! Please, wake up. Please..." Nabiki cried. She gently shook Ranma, and not getting a response, she sat next to him with her mind creating, reviewing and discarding courses of action. Eventually, she stood up and grabbed Ranma by his shirt and pulled him up.  
  
Throwing his arms around her neck, she hunched over and started to carry him back home. Tears were trickling down her cheeks as she started tried to determine how much she wanted to charge him for this assist.  
  
After Nabiki took a few hard steps, Ranma woke up, groaning in pain.  
  
"Naaabiiii."  
  
Nabiki tried to put Ranma down gently, but he weighed more than she could handle, and he was dropped on his butt.  
  
Ranma sat up and searched about his surroundings, blinking several times at a streetlight. On the verge of panic, he called out, "Nabiki. Nabiki! Where are you!?"  
  
"Ranma! I'm here. Right here!" Nabiki hugged Ranma with all she had, ignoring the slowly spreading blood on his face and shirt.  
  
Ranma's eyes started to focus a little, and then drifted into haziness again. "You here? You okay?"  
  
"Yes, yes!" Nabiki released her hug, and sat back. "Ranma, can you hear me?"  
  
"You don't have to yell. I can hear you just fine."  
  
Nabiki let out a sigh of relief. "Ranma, do you think you can walk?"  
  
In the distance, a siren wails.  
  
"I think so, but I can't see too good." Ranma opened and closed his eyes several times, trying to clear the fuzziness in his head.  
  
"Hold my hand, I'll get you home. Come on, Ranma, we can't stay here." The sirens were getting closer.  
  
Ranma tried to stand, and was about to fall when Nabiki caught him.  
  
"Ranma, all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Don't worry about anything else, I'll take care of it, okay?" Nabiki wrapped her arm around Ranma and started guiding him home.  
  
"Yeah. I can do it." Ranma winced as he felt the back of his head. He felt a big soft spot where it should be hard. "I gotta have Akane show me how she deals with a crowd."  
  
"Oh, so my sister is good at something?"  
  
"That tomboy," Ranma grunted again and shook his head, "isn't as bad as I make her out to be. She just needs to focus more and not get angry so easily."  
  
Nabiki was surprised at Ranma's admission. In the five or six months that she had known Ranma, this is the first time she heard him actually say she was a good martial artist. "Perhaps he isn't as well as he seems..." she thought.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Ranma mumbled, "just gotta make sure she doesn't cook."  
  
Nabiki smiled to herself, feeling better that Ranma's injury may not be all that dangerous.  
  
With each step, Ranma was able to walk with a little less assistance from Nabiki, but it was obvious that the light-headed-fuzziness never dissipated. Occasionally Ranma or Nabiki would have to stop to catch their breath before continuing. It took them twenty minutes to reach the gate of the Tendo compound, a walk that should have taken just over ten.  
  
Nabiki sat Ranma down just inside the gate, telling him to stay there and not move. When she was satisfied that Ranma was going to behave, she ran in the house, yelling, "Father! Kasumi! Help! Ranma's hurt!"  
  
Soun and Genma immediately bolted from their shogi game and ran to the front gate. Kasumi dashed from the laundry room with the first aid kit and Akane ran down from her room. In seconds, everyone in the Tendo household surrounded an unconscious Ranma.  
  
"Quick, call a doctor!" Soun ordered one of his daughters. Akane ran into the house to make the call while Kasumi dashed back into the house for blanket for Ranma.  
  
Genma gently lifted his son's head, and felt the bump. Starting from there, he checked his son's body for any other injuries. Not finding any, stepped back with a serious look on his face.  
  
In moments, Kasumi had brought a blanket and pillow from the house and started to cover Ranma with it. When she started to lift Ranma's head to put the pillow over it, he started shaking. She pulled away, and made sure that he wouldn't hurt himself as he thrashed.  
  
Nabiki stood next to her father, still as a statue. She watched Kasumi take care of Ranma, and when he started shaking, she started to cry. Nabiki stood frozen with the only sound coming from her being a single suppressed sob.  
  
Akane ran to her father. "The doctor is on his way, he'll be here in about ten minutes. He said to keep him warm." She looked down at Ranma for the first time. He looked as if he was in a peaceful sleep, but seeing the expressions on her father's and Uncle Saotome's faces told her that Ranma was seriously injured. She too started to cry, and sat down next to her fiancee.  
  
The doctor arrived, followed shortly by an ambulance. He immediately started probing Ranma. He called the hospital, asking them to prepare the X-Ray machine. Genma went with his son to the hospital while the Tendos arrived later by taxi.  
  
***  
  
At the hospital Nabiki was shakingly holding her tea, trying to relate her story of her returning home from school and the confrontation with the three pirates to the police. When she finished, an officer in plain clothes explained what would happen next and answered the only question Nabiki had. The three Indonesians were looking for girls to sell into slavery and had settled on Nabiki as their next target.  
  
After the police left, the three sisters sat quietly and listened to Nabiki tell the story once again.  
  
"Why was Ranma there?" ask Kasumi.  
  
Nabiki looked at older sister and stirred the cooling tea. She straightened her back and took a breath before answering, "I don't know. I had no idea he was anywhere near me when the whole thing started." After taking a sip of her tea she whispered, "I'm just glad he was there, though."  
  
Soun appeared behind Nabiki's chair and adjusted the lapel of his gi before stating, "Daughter, I think it's time you think about practicing the arts again. If you had kept up your efforts, I don't think this ever would have happened."  
  
"Daddy, I don't regret stopping. You know I hated it."  
  
"Ranma will not always be there to save you. This time you were lucky he was there. Next time he might not be anywhere around to save you. What do you do then?"  
  
"There won't be a next time. This kind of thing happens only once in a lifetime. I just had mine, so I probably won't ever have this happen again." Although said confidently, deep down, Nabiki wasn't so sure of her statement. She realized she had been taking some risks lately that she wouldn't have ordinarily done, and she wasn't sure why.  
  
Genma appeared, and reset the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Aha," he said to get everyone's attention, "It was Ranma's failure, not Nabiki's. He should have not exposed himself like that. He's slipping, I tell you Tendo-san. I say we take him on a training trip next week and set him straight!"  
  
That was more than Nabiki could take. Ranma had just saved her life, and he fought very well, but sometimes luck doesn't work out right. She sat straight up, and gripped the cushion of her chair before loudly made her feelings known, "Ranma saved my life. He was excellent. Hell, he was perfect! And you want to *punish* him?"  
  
Genma was very angry with his son, and wasn't going to let Nabiki or anyone else deters him from ensuring that his son becomes the best martial artist in the world. "Hell, yes! He's going to be punished. I'm going to knock him into next week so make sure he doesn't forget to always be alert!"  
  
Nabiki's emotions were already frayed and now she was unraveling at the seams. Nabiki shot up off her seat and shouted, "If you hurt him, you'll never forget it." She threw her teacup at him, running down the hall towards the building's exit.  
  
Everyone is stunned. Kasumi and Akane looked at each other, trying to make sense of Nabiki's reaction. Genma stared at the fleeing girl, ignoring the tea staining his gi. Soun started to lift his arm as if he was going to scratch his head.  
  
The first person to speak was Kasumi. She calmly put her own tea down on the table and addressed her father, "Father. Excuse me, I'll go see if I can calm her down." Before leaving, Kasumi gave Genma an uncharacteristic icy-cold stare.  
  
***  
  
Kasumi found Nabiki outside, sitting on the curb, bent over and hyperventilating. Kasumi stood next to her and offers her an outstretched hand.  
  
Nabiki accepted Kasumi's hand and pulled herself up. Once standing, she lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to reassure her sister.  
  
"I'm okay."  
  
Kasumi pulled out a tissue from her apron pocket and offered it to Nabiki. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"  
  
Nabiki took the tissue and blew her nose, wiped a final remaining tear from her face and nodded affirmatively.  
  
Kasumi kept the concerned look on her face when she mentioned Nabiki's outburst, "You were very upset at Uncle Genma."  
  
Nabiki started to taste bile. "And why shouldn't I be? That oaf wouldn't know how to be a hero even if he had an instruction manual. Hell, he's even proof that can't even teach using an instruction manual!  
  
"Ranma saved my life, and it was dumb luck that he was knocked out. It was his training that kept him going even when he should have been unconscious on the ground!  
  
"It seems every time I get in trouble, Ranma somehow saves me. And it not just by fighting. Kuno tried to talk me into selling him some pictures. That dope waved an incredible amount of money in my face. I was about ready to take his money when Ranma showed up, and Kuno challenged him to a fight. Not that it was a fight, mind you, Ranma had Kuno on the ground almost before the fight started. Then there was the time I was late for cram school. Well, almost late for cram school. Ranma carried me non-stop the whole way to the Kouhousei building."  
  
Kasumi smiled, and sat next to Nabiki. "I understand. I can't tell you how many times he's showed up at the most fortunate of times." She thought for a moment. A silly smile crept on Kasumi's face before she continued.  
  
"I can't think of the last time I slipped, tripped, or fell and Ranma wasn't there to catch me. He's even shown up just in time to help carry the groceries. And when Mrs. Obana's wheelchair broke when I was taking her to the clinic, Ranma showed up and carried her on in."  
  
Nabiki still had plenty of steam in her, and she continued her tirade against Genma, "That flea bitten beast that isn't fit to even be called a panda won't recognize his son for the hero he is. I want..." Nabiki starts to choke a little, "I want to see..."  
  
"Him sold to a panda breeding program?" Kasumi offered. She too was angry with Genma.  
  
"Yes! Only that may be too kind!" Suddenly a picture of Panda-Genma with two or three affectionate female pandas came to Nabiki's mind, and she giggled at some of the possible results.  
  
Looking directly at Nabiki, Kasumi opted for an indirect approach. "Sister, is there something else you want to say? Is there something else wrong?"  
  
Nabiki, obviously fighting back tears, sat back down the curb, and shook her head.  
  
Kasumi knew Nabiki was hiding something; her silence was confirmation of at least that much. Despite the risk of making her sister angry, if what she suspected was true, it would be worth whatever Nabiki could dish out. "So then, why are you so sensitive about everything? Akane had said that when Kuno tried to give flowers to onna-Ranma, she thought you were going to personally send Kuno into the pool. For the last two weeks, you have been coming home early from school. And this morning, I think you really wanted something to happen, didn't you? So, what is it?"  
  
"Nothing." Nabiki shook with every muscle quivering. Her emotions ran all over her, and it was taking everything she had not to cry. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. All Nabiki she could do was sit on the curb.  
  
Nabiki felt Kasumi sit down next to her and touched her shoulder. Not able to maintain her façade any more, Nabiki threw herself at Kasumi's chest and wept.  
  
In between labored breaths, Nabiki asked one question, and that one question answered everything for both of them. "God, it hurts so much..."  
  
Through her own tears, Kasumi had to agree. "He's something else isn't he?"  
  
Nabiki pulled back a little, her sobbing giving away to natural curiosity. "Kasumi, when did, you know..."  
  
"The first time? I don't know, maybe it was at the fair when he won the letter opener for you. You should have seen how happy you were. Maybe when we both stopped Daddy and Uncle Saotome from trying to marry him off again." Kasumi began to wonder what question she answering; things were not as clear as they normally were. Remembering that the person with the problem was Nabiki, she tried to draw her sister out.  
  
"When do you think it happened?" Kasumi asked.  
  
"About the same time I think. Every so often I look at the pen he gave me and can't do anything else."  
  
The two sisters looked at each other in understanding.  
  
Wiping tears from her face, Nabiki looked around for another tissue. "It's time to tell father, isn't it?"  
  
Kasumi handed Nabiki a new tissue and wiped her own eyes with fresh one from her apron pocket. "It is. I just hope Akane understands."  
  
Nabiki took a deep breath and forced the tension out of her with a long, hard breath. Glancing at the wet tissue and her sister's wet face, she murmured her thoughts just loud enough for Kasumi to hear if she was paying attention, "I think she's known for a while. She and Ranma hadn't fought in a long time, and I don't think it's because they've finally fallen in love."  
  
The two sisters watched another family run through the doors into the hospital, wishing for them a happy ending and good health. When they knew they were alone again, Nabiki spoke of a plan that was formulating in the back of her mind, "I think we should tell her first. If I'm wrong, it'll give us a chance to re-think how we tell father."  
  
Kasumi nodded agreement and stood up, "I'll go to her." She started to shake when a fresh round of tears started to pour from her face.  
  
Nabiki held Kasumi's hand, her own tears starting to rivet down her cheeks.  
  
Inside, the fathers were pacing the halls, unable to patiently wait for news about Ranma's condition. In a chair closest to the receptionist desk, Akane sat with a magazine on her lap. She had intended to read it, but she couldn't concentrate enough to even open it. Instead, she watched the fathers walk and tried to listen in on the telephone conversations of the receptionist. When things were really boring, she wondered what her sisters were doing outside for so long.  
  
She watched Kasumi come in and was surprised to see the blood shot eyes. She knew that Kasumi and Nabiki had been getting close to Ranma over the last few months, and right now they both were acting as if they were the ones engaged to her fiancee.  
  
Except that one of them was actually married to her fiancée.  
  
"My fiancee." That thought ran through Akane's head. Somehow the weight of what "fiancee" meant was lighter than usual. Despite the fact that she and he fought getting married and protested the engagement, she found the prospect of not having the Chinese influenced boy around to be very unsettling.  
  
Watching Kasumi pull a chair next to hers made Akane wonder what her oldest sister was going to say. The conversation was going to be about Ranma; conversations recently have often been about Ranma, and this was no different.  
  
"Akane, we need to talk," Kasumi started the conversation. "You saw Nabiki tonight, didn't you." Kasumi stopped to read Akane's face.  
  
Afraid of saying the wrong thing, Akane simply nodded her head. While she rolled the magazine into a tube, she saw Nabiki walk in and slump on the wall next to her. She didn't look any better than Kasumi, her face was still wet and her eyes just as red.  
  
Seeing a very human side of her sisters made her feel better. She stood up, walked over to the receptionist desk, pulled a handful of tissues from the box and handed them to Kasumi. With a smile, she said, "She doesn't look any worse than you do."  
  
Kasumi smiled and blew her nose and Nabiki held her hand out for a new tissue. Akane looked at her middle sister and tried not to giggle as she handed the next to last tissue.  
  
"We're pretty hopeless, aren't we?" she asked as she folded her own tissue before blowing her nose.  
  
Sitting down in her chair again, Akane put the magazine on her lap and quickly reviewed her own thoughts. She wasn't sure if she wanted to marry Ranma, and she knew that if she didn't that one of her sisters would, if for no other reason to keep the agreement and honor intact. The only thing that kept her from releasing Ranma earlier before was that she didn't want to give up her title as fiancee, it kept people like Kuno from being more annoying than they were.  
  
Soun and Genma came by with new cups of tea and handed one to each of the girls before resuming their pacing of the hallways.  
  
The silence became more than what Akane could handle. "What are we going to do?" she asked.  
  
The older two sisters sat, not able to look at Akane.  
  
"I don't know if I'm willing to give up the title of fiancee just yet, but Ranma and I shouldn't get married. I don't have with you what either of you have with him."  
  
Akane looked at her cup, and saw relief on her sisters' faces. Impishly smiling at them, she felt there was a question she had to ask, now that a barrier has been removed. "When did you finally realize you were falling for the idiot?"  
  
Nabiki let a small laugh escape, "I never said I was."  
  
Akane looked at her sisters. "Sure. I believe you." The sarcasm in Akane's voice was thick as mud.  
  
Not missing a beat, Nabiki continued, "Remember when you and Ranma came back from the water front, and he bought Kasumi and me pens? That night."  
  
"That long ago? You're kidding, right?" Akane tried to drain the tea from her cup. When finished she looked at Kasumi, who had a very red blush on her cheeks.  
  
"Out with it Kasumi. For once you can't hide." Akane started to reach to tickle Kasumi's side when Kasumi hesitated but stopped when Kasumi spoke.  
  
"About the same time, I should think. Maybe a little sooner." Kasumi took a sip of her tea and daintily wiped her lips.  
  
Akane sat dumbfounded. Her sisters had admitted that they were feeling something more than sisterly to her fiancee, which complicated her life immensely. Or did it?  
  
"Are you two thinking of marrying that idiot?" There was no trace of anger hatred in Akane's voice, and "idiot" had become a term of endearment for Akane.  
  
"I am married to that idiot," was the immediate answer from Nabiki.  
  
There was a moments hesitation from Kasumi before she spoke. "I like him. Very much, in fact. But he's too adventurous for me, and I'll certainly bore him.  
  
"Besides, he's already my little brother." Kasumi had an impish smile the whole time she spoke.  
  
Akane didn't know what to think of Kasumi's answer, her words indicated that she wasn't interested, but the strange grin on her face indicated that she was very interested in Ranma.  
  
"Is this what you two were talking about outside?" Akane asked.  
  
"Not really," answered Nabiki. "We agreed that we three needed to talk, but that was it."  
  
"Oh. Now what?"  
  
The three sisters drank tea and plotted, and when they were satisfied, collapsed into their chairs in exhaustion and drifted off into a fitful sleep.  
  
Nabiki felt her shoulder shake, rousing her from what she thought was a dizzying daydream. As she opened her eyes, she saw Auntie Nodoka smiling at her.  
  
The emphasis on the second word was not lost on Nabiki when she heard Nodoka greet her with, "Well, daughter, we have much to talk about don't we?"  
  
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Nabiki perked up. "Auntie! Is he okay? Has the doctor said anything?"  
  
"There's no change, and the doctor has not come out yet. And it's 'Mother' to you, not 'Auntie.'"  
  
The magnitude of what the older woman just said hit Nabiki. She felt a strange rush of emotions flood all over her; there was a strange sense of correctness in calling Nodoka "Mother."  
  
"Mother" was a magical word to Nabiki. It was something that she felt she never had but instinctively knew was something that she desperately missed and needed. The wisdom, experience and strength of a matriarch were sorely needed, not just by Nabiki, but by her sisters as well.  
  
Nabiki gave in, and clung onto Nodoka, finding the strength she needed as she drifted to sleep.  
  
It was a short hour later when the doctor came out and told the family that Ranma had a severe concussion and was being moved to a recovery room. As everyone rushed to his room, the station nurse stopped the crowd.  
  
"I'm sorry, but only the immediate family is allowed to visit him at this time."  
  
From behind Genma, Nodoka spoke up, "We are his parents, and I want to see my son."  
  
The nurse didn't apologize, instead she simply said "thank you" and pointed to Ranma's room. When Nabiki started to follow the Saotomes, the nurse placed her arm in front and said, "I'm sorry. I said only his immediate family may go in."  
  
Nabiki's frayed emotions became better of her and she responded slowly, clearly enunciating each syllable and paused between each word as she fought to keep control, "And. I. Am. His. Wife." 


	17. Chapter 17

"Uhnnnn."  
  
Ranma stirred as his senses started to return to him. He felt the sheets and the soft pillow under his head.  
  
The bed was really comfortable.  
  
He rolled over and felt a warm spot on the bed. His arm reached up and found a new pillow and pulled it under his head. It had a nice smell that reminded him of Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki.  
  
His eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly to find that the world was suddenly spinning in directions that were all wrong. Ranma recognized the signs of a concussion and slowly laid down again, letting the room slowly come to a stop. He eyed the ceiling and slowly turned his head to look around the room.  
  
He saw that the walls were bare white, a window with plain curtains over his head, and two small black nightstands on both sides of the large bed. The desk that was next to the door had several books on it, and some blue clothes covered the chair.  
  
Ranma quickly grasped that he was not in a hospital room, and he wasn't at the Tendos either. He slowly slid up the bed and leaned against the headboard. He started to taste bile in his throat, but at least the room wasn't spinning. After a short fight, his stomach settled down and he felt a little better. He slowly moved his hand up to his head to wipe the sweat away but stopped when he felt a bandage covering his scalp.  
  
His head didn't hurt, but there was some slight itching. He moved his arm again and gently touched the side of head where the itch was the strongest. He applied a little pressure with a finger to the gauze, and when he did not feel any pain he pressed his whole palm on his head and found a place where it hurt.  
  
That made sense to him, the last thing he remembered was...  
  
He couldn't remember. He thought for a moment. He remembered he went to school, and it was a really bad day. No. It was a very bad morning, everyone was apologizing and offering sympathy, but not exactly why. He remembered seeing Nabiki being attacked and the immense sense of relief he felt when he knew that Nabiki was safe.  
  
The rest of the day was sort of missing, so he closed his eyes and tried to mediate. Just as he started to relax, Ranma heard the door latch click and opened his eyes.  
  
"You're awake again!" Nodoka exclaimed as she entered the room with a full laundry basket, which was quickly placed on the floor at the foot of the bed. She walked around the bed to her son and immediately started checking his bandages.  
  
"I guess the doctor was right; he did say you were probably going to wake up today. How are you feeling, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma winced at his mother's ministrations; her motions were too unpredictable for him to feel safe. He could feel her touching the bandage, probing the parts that hurt when they were touched.  
  
He felt awkward, his mother was obviously very happy to see him again and that he was awake and he had not said a word yet. "Uh. Hi, Mom," he stammered. "Again?"  
  
"Oh, yes," she replied, "but this is the first time you sat up."  
  
When she stopped doing whatever it was to his scalp, Ranma worked up the courage to ask where he was. "Where am I?"  
  
The smile on his mother's face was bright, and her voice was filled with pride when she said, "This is your room, Ranma. They just finished it the day before yesterday. Like it?"  
  
"My room?" Ranma looked around. If this was his room, then that means that the Saotome house must have been rebuilt. "Really?"  
  
Nodoka laughed as she watched his eyes dart from corner to corner. "Yes," she replied.  
  
Ranma's stomach growled in hunger. "Mom?"  
  
Nodoka patted Ranma's leg, and said, "I know. You haven't eaten since yesterday, so you're hungry. You just rest, and I'll bring some food in a little while."  
  
"Yesterday? How long have I been out?"  
  
"Well, you went in the hospital on Tuesday night and today is Friday."  
  
Ranma's stomach growled again. "Mom?"  
  
"Just relax, and I'll be back in a few minutes."  
  
Ranma watched his mother leave as he leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and pictured the room in his mind, trying to memorize where everything was located. Memorizing the layout of a room was a habit he gained while traveling with his father; knowing where everything was made it less painful to move about the room in the dark. It was also an excellent exercise of his visual perception.  
  
He tried to focus on what the room looked like but found it difficult to think about anything for more than just a few minutes. After a few attempts, Ranma gave up and opened his eyes again. He wondered what time it was and saw a digital clock radio on the nightstand.  
  
He thought aloud, "One twenty, huh? I wonder what's going on at school?"  
  
He heard the door again and turned his head to face it, and was rewarded with a psychedelic wall. He closed his eyes and waited until he was sure that straight lines would be straight again.  
  
His mother spoke with a concerned voice, "Ramma? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I moved my head a little too fast and the room went all weird on me.  
  
He opened his eyes as he felt a tray placed on his lap. Carefully looking down, he saw a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice and a large cup of tea. Moving slowly as not to spill anything Ranma picked up the soup bowl and took a sip. It was not too hot and tasted very good. Satisfied that this was not Akane's cooking, he took a big swallow of soup then set the bowl down. He looked up to compliment his mother on how good the food tasted and found that she was no longer in the room. After mentally shrugging his shoulders, Ranma ate his meal in quiet.  
  
Ranma felt exhausted when he finished eating. He lifted the tray up and moved it to the other side of the bed before sliding down back into the sheets and was asleep within seconds of closing his eyes.  
  
"Ranma-kun?"  
  
Ranma felt a small hand on his chest gently shaking him. I opened his eyes to see Nabiki sitting on the bed next to him.  
  
"Nabiki" he said as soon as he recognized her.  
  
A smile crossed her face. "I have dinner here for you, so why don't you sit up."  
  
Ranma slowly sat up and had to fight the bitter taste again. He looked over at Nabiki who had placed a tray on the nightstand and was stirring the soup. He watched her pick up the soup and slowly hand the bowl to him.  
  
"It's hot, so be careful," Nabiki warned.  
  
Ranma could see the steam wisp above the bowl as he gently cradled the bowl in his hands and took a tentative sip. It was hot, but consumable. He ate the soup in silence with Nabiki occasionally wiping the errant drop off his face. When he was done, she took his bowl and placed it on the tray.  
  
"So, do you think you can eat this without making a mess in bed?"  
  
Ranma thought that Nabiki had a playful look on her face when she asked that question. Some warning bells went of in his head -- she was obviously up to something, and his reply carried his suspicions, "Yeah."  
  
She placed the tray on his lap and watched him eat and when he was finished, Nabiki took the tray from him, and with a wink, said she'd be right back as she left the room.  
  
Ranma didn't miss the wink. If the warning bells were ringing before, they sounded like a hundred klaxons blasting now.  
  
Nabiki returned and sat on the edge of the bed. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "Scoot over, I need more room" as she climbed on the bed next to Ranma.  
  
Ranma slowly moved from the middle of the bed and watched her take a lazy position next to him.  
  
The silence bothered Ranma, he had to say something to release the tension he felt. "You alright?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"What do you remember?"  
  
Ranma started a stream-of-consciousness dump, occasionally remembering a new small tidbit from Tuesday.  
  
"Do you remember why you were so mad?"  
  
"Yeah. Everyone was saying all those mean things about you."  
  
"What do you remember after the fight?"  
  
"Nothin, really. I remember waking up earlier today and Mom feeding me, but that's about it."  
  
Ranma's eyelids started to droop and he fought to stay awake.  
  
"Go to sleep, Ranma. I'll wake you up later."  
  
***  
  
It was to a gentle shake that woke Ranma, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Nabiki on the bed next to him.  
  
"You there?" she asked.  
  
"I think so," was his sleeply reply.  
  
"Good."  
  
He looked around the room for a moment and wondered where he was for a moment before remembering what his mother told him.  
  
"Nabiki?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I gotta go to the bathroom."  
  
"Okay. Let me help you." Nabiki sat up and walked around the bed. She put her arms out and helped Ranma slowly pull himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.  
  
Moving with all deliberate slowness, Ranma stood with Nabiki's help. His first step was unsteady, and he felt himself being caught by Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki's voice was soft and re-assuring, "I have you, Ranma. Just take it slow."  
  
Ranma silently thanked Nabiki for being so supportive; he was having serious problems discerning what direction was "up". As the two of them slowly staggered out the door, Ranma realized he had no idea where the bathroom was, but when he felt a tug, he let Nabiki lead him to the water closet that was in the bathroom.  
  
Ranma leaned against the wall and reached to open the door. His own movement was too fast for his brain to decipher, his stomach started to cramp and the walls started to move. He quickly close his eyes and started to hyperventilate to see if he could hold his dinner down.  
  
It took what felt like a long time for the nausea to pass, and when it did, Ranma felt clammy and wanted to take a bath.  
  
He relaxed his tight grip on Nabiki and said, "You can let go of me now. I think I can stand again."  
  
Nabiki released her hug and slowly stepped back, and when she let go of him, Ranma's hand shot for the wall. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to judge the distance and he grabbed air.  
  
Nabiki quickly caught him as he started to topple over.  
  
"I guess I can't," Ranma sheepishly said. "Thanks for catching me."  
  
Nabiki shifted Ranma's weight a little and wryly said, "Yeah, I caught you alright."  
  
Nabiki took a small step towards the water closet and Ranma mimicked her motions. Once in, he grabbed the rail on the wall and Nabiki let go of him.  
  
Stepping back out of the room, Nabiki slowly closed the door and said, "call me if you need help."  
  
Going to the bathroom wasn't that hard, all Ranma had to do was hang on to the rails on both sides of the toilet and close his eyes. Now all he had to do was get dressed again. Pulling up his underwear was easy, just reach down and pull up.  
  
"Uh, oh." Ranma said as the room changed shape again. He leaned against the wall grabbed for the rail, smashing his hand against it. His stomach started to convulse and a strong taste filled his mouth. Bending over what he thought was the toilet he let his body do what it needed.  
  
He felt someone holding him steady as his chest started to relax. He rolled over and saw Nabiki flushing the toilet with one hand. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and breathed slowly. His throat and chest hurt, and he tasted some vile stuff through his nose.  
  
He felt a cool washcloth wipe over his face opened his eyes.  
  
"You know, I thought you were actually going to make it there, Ranma."  
  
"Sorry about that, Nabiki. I just moved too fast again."  
  
Nabiki chuckled as she said, "at least you pulled your shorts up. Think you can get up again?"  
  
"Yeah. Maybe."  
  
Nabiki stood up and held Ranma's hands in hers. Ranma slowly pulled himself up, and once standing, he reached for the support bars again. Nabiki guided his hand to the bar and stood back.  
  
"That better?" she asked  
  
"Yeah. Thanks, Nabiki." Ranma looked down at the floor and found that his pants were still around his ankles. His face turned red with embarrassment. He thought about pulling his pants up, but he remembered what happened with his underwear. Modesty lost to his desire to keep his body fluids inside of him.  
  
"Ranma, can you make it to the bathroom?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Come on. I'll help. First, step out of those pants," Nabiki said as she held him up. Ranma moved slowly and the pants fell of his leg. He shifted his weight and repeated the same process with the other leg.  
  
He took a tentative step forward, and with Nabiki's help made it to the middle of the tiled bathroom floor.  
  
"Sit down and relax, Ranma. You are getting a sponge bath."  
  
"Sponge bath? Why can't I take a regular bath?"  
  
"Because, Ranma, you can't even stand up without my help, so what makes you think you can get out of the tub, much less into the tub? Maybe tomorrow you can have a real bath. Right now you stink, and you are getting a sponge bath."  
  
"Why can't I do it myself?"  
  
"Can you pull up your own shorts without throwing up?"  
  
The truth hurt. The macho part of him said, "hell, yes", but the water closet floor was evidence to the contrary. Sheepishly he said, "Uh, no?" as he sat down.  
  
"Relax, Ranma. You'll feel better when I'm done."  
  
Ranma sat on the cool floor and watched Nabiki get ready to wash him. After she readied the buckets, washcloths, towels and soap, he watched her hesitate for a moment as if she was making her mind up about something. Finally she pulled the stool next to him and sat on it.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Ranma was glad that the only thing that was said between the two of them was instructions that Nabiki gave him to make it easier for to wash him. The bath felt good, and Nabiki had a nice touch. He luxuriated in her ministrations. Even her toweling felt good.  
  
When she was finished, he felt wonderful, and extremely thankful that she insisted that she give the bath.  
  
"Nabiki," he started to say. In the back of his mind, calling her Nabiki wasn't the right thing to say given what she just did for him. He started again, "Nabiki-chan?"  
  
He found it hard to look at her, and her whispered reply was almost lost in the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears.  
  
"Ranma-kun?"  
  
"Can...May I give," Ranma's voice weakened, and he tried again, "Want me to wash you?"  
  
He looked up to see Nabiki's blush. He wasn't sure how she was going to answer.  
  
"Y-yes, Ranma."  
  
Ranma started to move.  
  
She hurriedly put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, and said, "Not now Ranma. Later, when you feel better."  
  
Ranma looked at her for a moment and watched her play with the ends of her hair.  
  
"In fact, I'm going to insist that you do," she said as she smiled.  
  
Ranma felt her eyes roam over his body, but he didn't mind, for he was doing the same to her. He felt something started stir, and immediately became self-conscious. Hiding his privates, he indicated that he wanted to put his pants on with a nod of his head.  
  
Nabiki turned crimson and tore her eyes away from him. She quickly gathered a measure of composure and instructed Ranma to wait a few seconds while she went to get some clean clothes for him.  
  
When Nabiki returned to the bathroom with a clean change of clothes she found Ranma sitting on the bathroom counter. "That was stupid of him," she thought.  
  
She tossed the boxers and trousers to his feet. "Get back down on your butt and put these one," she said.  
  
She watched Ranma bend over to pick up the shorts and staggered. She felt sorry for him, the blow to his head was serious, and it was going to take time for him to realize that he wasn't going heal as quick as he normally would.  
  
She crossed her arms, wondering when he was going to change his shorts. A sudden "ahem" from him caught her attention and she realized that he wanted a little privacy while he changed. She felt a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get a cheap show but tried not to let it show.  
  
"I'll turn around Ranma. Let me know when you are done so I can give you your pants."  
  
She turned around and thought about what was going to happen when she took him back to the bedroom. The sponge bath that she gave him affected her thinking; she was wishing she could see him in a mirror. She thought she knew what she was going to say once they were alone in the bedroom, but now she was a little uncertain. Life since Tuesday has been crazy, and she was feeling ragged. She wanted to talk, to let out the stress and feelings she had been holding in. Ranma's mother was wonderful, being helpful, but she didn't feel as if she could tell her everything. Normally she would talk to Kasumi, but she wasn't here at the moment. She may have considered talking this over with Akane, but things between them were a bit tense at the moment. Her father was a large part of what she wanted to talk about, so she couldn't talk this over with him either. Since this was a private family matter, so her friends were not available either. That left the only one more person, and that was the boy that was behind her. One way or another, everything revolved around him, and that was both a blessing and a curse. And she knew that if she was going to stay sane, she was going to have to face up to him before too long.  
  
"Nabiki? Uh, could you pull my pants up?"  
  
"Huh?" Nabiki turned around was looking at Ranma with his pants around his feet. Obviously he never took her instructions to heart. She kept thinking about Ranma, and started to study him, thinking about Tuesday morning.  
  
"My pants?"  
  
"Oh, sure!" Nabiki sat on her knees in front of him and started tugging his pants up. She found herself producing a lot of saliva and had to swallow a couple of times when she had a little difficulty pulling his pants over his butt. With the pants up her hands became unsteady and she started to fumble with the string in his waistband.  
  
The bathroom door opened, and a voice came from the hall, surprising the two occupants, "Oh! I'm sorry. I'll come back later. Just take your time. Bye!"  
  
The door clicked shut, but not before Ranma and Nabiki heard, "I'm so happy!"  
  
Nabiki sat on the floor stunned. There was no mistaking the picture that Nodoka had in her mind, and it was going to be impossible to get correct her impression.  
  
"Well, looks like Mom's happy," Ranma said.  
  
Nabiki muttered something.  
  
"What did you say?" Ranma asked.  
  
Nabiki sighed, and repeated what she said, "I have the worse luck."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"If you are up to it, I'll tell you when you get back into bed."  
  
***  
  
Back in the bedroom, Ranma was lying on the bed trying to catch is breath while Nabiki went to the bathroom. When she returned, he saw that she had on a pair of blue and green pajamas and sat at the desk and started brushing her hair.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Getting ready for bed."  
  
"Oh." Ranma was silent for a moment, but only for a moment. "What? Getting ready for bed? In here?"  
  
"Yes, Ranma. We have a lot to talk about tonight, and I think I'd rather be comfortable when we do." Nabiki walked over the bed and made a motion for Ranma to move over. When he did, she pulled the covers back and climbed in.  
  
She saw that Ranma was at the edge of the bed, if she as much touched him, he would fall out. She debated whether or not she should entice him to come closer and decided that he would be prone to panic if she did anything overt, so she started to talk. Eventually, she hoped, he would relax and would get comfortable.  
  
"What do we have to talk about?"  
  
Nabiki was tempted to say, "us", but she wasn't ready for that herself. Instead, she said "Your skull fracture, for one."  
  
Trying to make light of the serious injury, she said, "Honestly, I thought your head was thicker than that. I mean, you've come unscathed from Akane's blows to the head, why would some pirate cause so much trouble?"  
  
Ranma's face went a little dark and she knew she went a little too far. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm just trying to joke a little.  
  
It was scary, knowing that you were in a coma. When you woke up a few times yesterday..."  
  
"I woke up yesterday?"  
  
"Uh, huh. But you never made much sense. Basically you just ate some soup and went back to sleep. The doctor said that you would probably wake up for good today.  
  
"Anyhow, you have a really bad concussion, and it's going to affect you for a while."  
  
Nabiki watched his blue eyes meet hers; he was obviously hanging onto every word she said. "How long?" he asked.  
  
"Well, he said a month." Nabiki waved her hands to stop Ranma from getting too agitated and continued, "but we know better. It'll probably be a week or so for you. After all, what little you have up there," Nabiki pointed at Ranma's head, "can't take too long to heal. Right?"  
  
She saw Ranma relax a little. At least this time he saw the humor. He moved into the bed a little and propped his head up on the pillow.  
  
"What happenend? I can't remember anything after I was hit."  
  
This was the opportunity she needed, so she started telling him the story. She had rehearsed what she was going to say with Nodoka, but now it was for real, she felt unsure of herself.  
  
Nabiki realized she was taking too long in thought when she heard him ask, "Did I win?"  
  
It was stupid of him to ask. Of course he won. "Yes, Ranma. You put all three of them down."  
  
"Good."  
  
"That's all he has to say?" she thought. She felt as if she missed something, so she asked him, "Good?"  
  
"Yeah. They shouldn't be doing that. At least," Ranma went silent, and Nabiki didn't press him, knowing that by the night was over, there would be a lot of things said and left unsaid.  
  
Nabiki went on to describe the walk home, the arrival of the ambulance, and a very edited version of what happened at the hospital. She watched Ranma for fatigue before continuing.  
  
She found it hard to look at Ranma when she confessed, "I kind of messed things up in the hospital."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, after you were taken out of the ER, your family was allowed to see you. And so your father, mother and I went in." She waited for what she said to steep into his addled brain. It took about a minute, but she wasn't disappointed.  
  
"They let you in to see me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Like I said, I kind of blew it. I told everyone I was your wife."  
  
"So. It's not like everyone doesn't know already."  
  
Ranma's nonchalant answer surprised her.  
  
"Now the hospital has me listed as your spouse and next of kin." Nabiki sighed, "Things are so much more complicated."  
  
Ranma sat in thought for a moment. Finally he asked, "So, did you get them to sign the divorce stuff?"  
  
Nabiki looked at him and shook her head. "No. Like I keep trying to tell you, things are now more complicated, and it's all my fault.  
  
"Akane, Kasumi, and I had this talk with your mother. Then she," Nabiki paused. This wasn't going the way she wanted it too. She wanted to calm and collected, but she found she was turning into an emotional wreck as she relived the pivotal hours in the hospital.  
  
"Then she told me to call her 'mother.'" She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. "I couldn't do it any more, Ranma. I just couldn't. I started to cry and just kept crying until they said you were in your own room."  
  
Ranma moved slightly closer to Nabiki and touched her cheek and said, "And that was when you told everyone we were married."  
  
Nabiki nodded.  
  
"Then what? Did Pops and your dad start dancing or something?"  
  
Nabiki smiled, "Or something. They hugged each other and completely forgot about you. While the two of them celebrated, Mother and I went in to see you. We didn't stay long, we just wanted to see you. When we left the room, Kasumi and Akane had our fathers begging for mercy." A grin crossed her face when she said, "I still don't know what they said or did, but they both have been on their best behavior since then."  
  
Nabiki felt a little better. If there was one good thing that came from the hospital, it was a subdued Genma.  
  
"I guess your mother wanted to talk to her new daughter-in-law, so we took a private taxi back home. That's when I told her about the marriage, the divorce papers, that day at school, and everything."  
  
If Nabiki wanted to, she could reach over and embrace Ranma, but she fought not to. What she was about to say was going to be the hardest thing she would say that night. She reached out and found his hand and held it.  
  
"Ranma," she said as she squeezed his hand, "your mother asked why I wanted the divorce. After I told her, she said I really didn't want the divorce."  
  
"What? Why would she say that?"  
  
"I guess I hesitated too much with my answer."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Ranma, it wasn't just a slight pause. I actually had to think about it."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I said I wasn't ready to be married; that I was still in school, and I wanted to go to college.  
  
She said that wasn't good enough. She asked me if I...if I...loved you."  
  
Her grip on Ranma's hand tightened.  
  
"I said I didn't know. We ended up talking all night. We even saw the sunrise. We went to bed, and I didn't get up until after lunch."  
  
Ranma playfully chided her, "Like that's new."  
  
"That night we had a family meeting."  
  
"Uh oh."  
  
"'Uh oh' is right. I told the fathers that if they didn't sign the divorce papers, you and I would sell the dojo at our first opportunity."  
  
"What!"  
  
"Relax, Ranma-kun. I wouldn't do that. Maybe I would have earlier, but not now. And they didn't need to know that."  
  
"Did they sign?"  
  
"Yep, but only after Mother threatened divorce herself. She can be very convincing."  
  
Ranma relaxed knowing that the papers have been signed. He sighed a breath of relief, "So that's all taken care of. You had me scared there for a minute."  
  
The predatory grin on Nabiki's face scared him. He'd seen it when she has captured a new sucker for one of her schemes, and he knew he was the sucker.  
  
"Don't get your hopes up, husband." There was no mistaking the emphasis on 'husband' in her voice. "I said they signed the papers, I didn't say we filed them. And I didn't say your mother signed the papers."  
  
"Mom didn't sign the papers? Did she have to?"  
  
"She is your mother, so she does. And why she didn't is because of what we have to talk about."  
  
"I think I'm going to hate that word."  
  
"What word?"  
  
"Talk."  
  
Nabiki thought the same thing, but she couldn't come up with another word. She reached and touched Ranma's face for a second, and was surprised that he didn't flinch.  
  
"She didn't sign the papers because she thought it would be a mistake."  
  
"A mistake? It was a mistake that put us in the place to start with."  
  
"She thinks it would be a bigger mistake." She stopped Ranma from speaking, "Wait, you asked what happened. Let me tell you.  
  
"After she said she wasn't going to sign the papers, she asked if Akane or Kasumi wanted to marry you. You can probably guess their answers."  
  
"Yeah. Akane called me a pervert, and Kasumi said I was too young."  
  
"Close enough. Akane said that you two just fight all the time."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind. Akane's answer is a long story that needs to be told later. Mother then asked me if I divorced you, would I consider marrying you.  
  
It was the weirdest feeling, Ranma. Maybe it was the lack of sleep the night before and all the stress. I wanted to say yes, but..."  
  
"You said no..."  
  
"I said I didn't want to get divorced."  
  
Ranma's eyes opened so wide Nabiki thought they would roll out of their sockets. She waved her hand in front of his face and asked, "Ranma? You there?"  
  
Ranma came to and said, "Wow. I thought you said you didn't want to get divorced."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"But I thought we agreed..."  
  
"We did. But there's something new that puts a different spin on things.  
  
"Ranma, think about it. We get divorced, engaged and then in a couple of years we get married again. And in those years, what changes whether or not we are married? Nothing. Well, almost nothing."  
  
"Almost nothing?"  
  
The predatory smile came back to Nabiki's face. "Almost nothing, as long as I don't get pregnant."  
  
Ranma stuttered, "P-p-p-pregnant?"  
  
"Yes, Ranma. Pregnant."  
  
"But, but..."  
  
"Ranma. Stop and think a bit. If we stay married and it works out, no harm is done and we'll both be happier. If it doesn't work out, we get divorced when the time's right and that's it.  
  
"But if we get divorced now, that means we have to get married again, and maybe go through another divorce. I'd rather do it all just once."  
  
Ranma was silent while he thought about the situation he was in before speaking. "What about Ukyo and Shampoo?"  
  
Nabiki moved closer to Ranma and pulled him in closer. Their bodies weren't touching but they could feel the heat emanating from each other.  
  
"Oh, yes. Cologne stopped by yesterday to talk to me."  
  
"She did? What'd the old ghoul have to say?"  
  
"The 'old ghoul', as you call her, said she agreed to help you trick the fathers into divorcing us."  
  
"I don't remember that."  
  
"I suspected as such. Anyway, she and Mother had a short conversation in private."  
  
"What did they say?"  
  
"I don't know. But after Cologne left, Mother told me that she and Shampoo wouldn't be bothering us too much."  
  
"Did Mom say why?"  
  
"No, and when I asked, she wouldn't tell me why. Suspicious."  
  
"What about Ukyo?"  
  
"Well, that is a different story. After you left school Tuesday, she came hunting for me."  
  
Ranma's eyes went from blue to gray as he asked, "Hunting?"  
  
"That's as good as word as any. She wanted blood, and if wasn't yours, it would be mine."  
  
Nabiki felt a small chill, and realized that Ranma was trying to do something. "Ranma-kun. Stop. She didn't do anything." Nabiki tugged his arm and held it against her chest as she pleaded, "See. I'm here. I'm not hurt."  
  
Something made it through to Ranma and he calmed down. "What happened?"  
  
"You can thank Akane in the morning."  
  
"Akane?"  
  
"She may have been mad at us, but she is our sister. You should have seen her, you would be proud of her. She actually beat Ukyo one on one."  
  
"She beat Ukyo?"  
  
"Well, almost. Ukyo broke off the fight when she discovered that you had left the school. But Akane would have won in any case. I guess she did learn something from watching you in all those fights."  
  
"Hey, she's not stupid. Just angry and impatient."  
  
"That's my sister."  
  
"So, that means Ukyo is still after us?"  
  
"Maybe. I don't know. The restaurant has been closed since then."  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"I don't know. We can talk about this tomorrow. Right now I need to get some sleep." Nabiki resettled the covers over her and looked over to Ranma. She found him looking at her.  
  
"What is it, Ranma?"  
  
"I thought you said it was time to go sleep."  
  
"I did."  
  
"So why are you still here?"  
  
Nabiki had a sudden impulse to hit Ranma. Then she started to laugh, finding the situation humorous. "Want in on a couple of little secrets, Ranma?"  
  
"Uh...maybe."  
  
"Let me whisper it in your ear." Nabiki leaned over to Ranma and placed her mouth next to his ear, and quietly said, "First, wives sleep with their husbands."  
  
Then she kissed the ear and said, "Second, I think it's time I told you that I love you." She kissed cheek before saying, "Good night, Husband." 


	18. Chapter 18

Ranma woke up the next morning to find that Nabiki had entangled her legs together with the sheet. He blew a lock of hair off his nose, and opened his eyes to see Nabiki sharing the same pillow his was using.  
  
"Morning. Its about time you woke up."  
  
"Nabiki!"  
  
"You look surprised to see me. Husband."  
  
"Erk."  
  
"You're supposed to say, 'Good morning' back."  
  
"Good Morning, Nabiki-chan."  
  
Nabiki pulled Ranma's arm under her head and used it as a pillow. She rolled over and faced her husband and gently touched his cheek. "Ready to continue from last night?"  
  
Nabiki's affectionate behavior was causing Ranma's brain to spin. She wasn't acting, he knew she had a very tender side to her that she never let anyone see. The only time he had ever sees her act this way is when she was absolutely certain that they were alone and she could let her guard down.  
  
"Yeah," he answered. He hoped he could find out more about Ukyo, but he knew that if he mentioned her while Nabiki was behaving like this, she would get mad at him.  
  
"What are your thoughts about staying married?"  
  
That was one of the reasons why Ranma's sleep was restless. He didn't want to be married. He still had a lot to do and learn before he became the world's best martial artist, and having a wife would certainly slow him down. He didn't want that.  
  
What bothered him was that for him to become the best, he would have to travel alone on the road, just as he and his father did. He wasn't sure that he could leave Nabiki behind.  
  
She complimented him, he thought, in a simplistic brains and brawn combination -- she was the brains and he was the brawn. She never felt threatened by him, and she never felt the need to press a claim on him. In fact, Nabiki was the only girl he knew that he felt comfortable being with. If it were any other girl next to him, he would be trying to get away.  
  
But Nabiki felt comfortable on his arm.  
  
"Ranma? You awake?"  
  
Nabiki had a worried voice when she spoke.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Your eyes started glassing over. It scared me."  
  
"I'm fine, Nabiki. I was just thinking."  
  
"About your answer?"  
  
"Yeah. It's a tough question."  
  
"I want to know what you think about marriage."  
  
"I don't know if I can do it."  
  
"Be married?"  
  
"Maybe. All my life I was told that I was going to be the best martial artist in the world. And I've worked hard at it for ten years. Until I came here, I thought my life was simple. Work and train hard and become the best.  
  
"Then I found I was engaged to Akane. And Ukyo. And somehow married to Shampoo. And who knows whom else. Everything became complicated. I'm supposed to be the greatest and the best, but now I have all these distractions.  
  
"Then you and Kasumi conspired to keep me away from Akane when she's mad. The next thing I know is that we are spending all this time together and Akane isn't getting mad at me when I do.  
  
"Meanwhile all these freaky martial artists show up. The Dojo Destroyer was probably the most normal one I've seen. There are martial arts for ice- skating, eating and carnival games. And if it wasn't a crazy martial art, it was some pervert, ghoul, demon or super strong dude throwing ki-blasts causing me trouble.  
  
"I still have a long way to go. I'm not the best. I always win, but I'm not the best. If it was a clean fight, Happosai, Cologne or Taro could probably wipe the floor with me.  
  
"With Akane I didn't have to worry to much about her getting hurt. She's tough and strong. She's also a martial artist.  
  
"But I worry about you. Every time some goofball shows up, I worry about you. And Kasumi. I worry about you guys getting hurt or something.  
  
"I'm not good enough to be married to you yet. I can't even protect you from some stupid pirates."  
  
Nabiki crawled closer to Ranma, and gently pushed his face up so she could see his eyes. "Ranma, you did save me. And you'll get better with or without me at your side.  
  
"You are Happosai's heir to the school. He picked you. Not my father. Not your father. You. And you will surpass him.  
  
"Cologne has taught you so many 'secret' Amazon techniques that I seriously doubt that her interest in you is because of Shampoo's marriage claim.  
  
"And don't forget that those two have more than a hundred years more experience than you."  
  
Nabiki put her hand on Ranma's ear, gently rubbing the earlobe. "Ranma," she said, "I know you will be the best, but you don't have to do it alone. Look at Cologne. She was married at least once."  
  
Ranma cradled Nabiki's hand upon his cheek and looked at her almond eyes. What she said sounded right. Happosai and Cologne aren't going to hurt her. And Taro was supposed to be in China.  
  
And Nabiki was here, safe in bed with him.  
  
And he liked that.  
  
"I don't know anything about being married," he said.  
  
Nabiki leaned in close and kissed him on his nose. "Neither do I," she said as she pulled back slightly.  
  
Ranma found Nabiki's hand and held it. "But I can learn."  
  
When Nabiki kissed him on the lips, he knew he said the right thing. And then she moved closer, her lips next to his ear and said, "Right answer."  
  
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **  
  
FIN  
  
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **  
  
Believe it or not, that's it. I never even planned on getting this far, but I had to find some sort of ending where they made a decision that actually kind of made sense for the situation they were in.  
  
I really abused the marriage laws in Japan here. From what I could tell while doing some research, it *used* to be possible to be married by simply declaring so and setting up a household. I took this and ran. (Perhaps I should have kept on running...)  
  
For the Akane fans that stuck with this -- It was intended to be an Akane/Ranma matchup, but I kept writing Ranma and Nabiki. The good news is that a whole chapter was excised that may be the genesis of a Ranma/Akane story. Unfortunately, I've started on a (very bad) Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover that seems screaming for completion. 


End file.
